


A Storm We're Meant to Ride

by Skaboom



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Corey is still a Chameleon, Empathy, Invisibility, Liam is an Empath, M/M, Morey is as prominent as Thiam, No Werewolves, Pretty much everyone else is human, Superpowers/Superhuman abilities, The Bright Sessions AU, Therapy for folks with superpowers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26735695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skaboom/pseuds/Skaboom
Summary: Marin Morrell is a therapist with an odd specialty - she treats people with superhuman abilities, known to the few who are aware of the existence Atypicals. This story follows the lives of two of her patients as they attempt to navigate their extraordinary abilities through a seemingly ordinary world.Liam Dunbar is an empath - he can feel the emotions of those around him, making high school a more or less miserable experience. It only becomes more complicated when a new guy, Theo, starts at school. When Liam is around him, all he can feel is the overwhelming sadness of the other man. As he struggles to deal with that, his life, and the life of his best friend, Mason, begin to intertwine not only with Theo's, but with Corey Bryant, a young, anxious, lonely teenager, who can blend in with his surroundings to the point of invisibility.
Relationships: Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt, Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 93
Kudos: 73





	1. Chapter One - Liam

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on the podcast The Bright Sessions (which you should listen to), but I am probably (hopefully) going to change quite a bit to make it fit these characters! The chapters are going to switch around to focus on different characters, and yeah. I hope it makes sense! Thanks for giving this a shot, I'm really curious to know what you think, as its a little unusual. 
> 
> Title comes from the song Synesthesia by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.

“Hello, Liam.” Dr. Morrell looked up as Liam walked into her office, a gentle smile in place on her face. “It’s good to see you.”   
  
“Yeah you too, I guess,” Liam muttered as he slumped onto the couch across from his therapist.    
  
“I’ll take it,” Dr. Morrell said. “As always, I’m going to record our session so that I don’t have to pause to take notes, is that alright with you? It will be deleted when I’m finished, and no one will ever hear it.”   
  
“You don’t have to ask me this every fucking time,” Liam rolled his eyes. “I know the drill. It’s fine. I’m fine with it. My mom signed the thing and everything, so it’s whatever.”   
  
“I understand,” Dr. Morrell said. “I just think that it’s important to get consent every time for something like this. I know this is private, and I know that you’re not ready for everyone to know about your ability-”   
  
“Me?” Liam said. “You said it could be dangerous if everyone knew, you said people weren’t ready to know about me, and what I can do and whatever, you and my parents-”   
  
“Liam,” Dr. Morrell said. “Take a deep breath. I know. Having a superhuman ability like yours is difficult, and having to keep it to yourself is tricky, and you can tell people - you can tell those closest to you, those you trust, but-”   
  
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Liam rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to wind up on some autopsy block in a secret government facility. I get it.”   
  
“Well, I wouldn’t have put it that way, but yes. Sure. If that’s how you need to connect to it…”   
  
“Do you talk like that all the time? Or is this you therapizing me?”   
  
“I’m a professional therapist.”   
  
“I’m aware,” Liam said. “That’s not what I asked.”   
  
“I guess it’s just the way I talk, I can’t say that I’ve ever given it much thought before, but we’re not here to talk about me, Liam, we’re here to talk about you. So, how was your week? How was Lacrosse?”   
  
“Good,” Liam said. “We won on Friday.”   
  
“And how was that?”   
  
“Good. I don’t know, loud, I guess. But good loud. Everyone was really happy, and excited, and you know, I could feel that, and it made me really happy and excited, too?”   
  
“That makes sense,” she said.    
  
“I mean, the party after was difficult, you know how it is with drinking-”   
  
“I thought we had agreed that you wouldn’t drink,” she said. “Because we don’t know how it will mix with your ability.”   
  
“I know, I know,  _ I _ wasn’t,” Liam said quickly. “I don’t. But, you know, I mean around drunk people it’s hard, because when you can feel everyone’s emotions, and everyone is drunk, that’s a lot of emotions, and a lot of people doing absolutely nothing to control them.”   
  
“Why don’t you tell me a little more about that?”   
  
“It was like,” he sighed. “Everyone was having different emotions, so it was like constant whiplash for me, and then they were feeling everything like, really intensely, you know, more than usual. Bigger than usual. One second I would be feeling happy, and then I’d feel really, really sad, and then, ho-well, you know,” he felt his cheeks growing hot. “Some people get a little...you know, when they’re drunk.”   
  
“Amorous?” Dr. Morrell asked.    
  
“Yeah, sure, amorous, let’s go with that and move on, please,” Liam said quickly, not wanting to talk about horniness with his therapist, whether it was his own, or gifted to him unknowingly by the drunken idiots around him.    
  
“Of course.” She nodded. “So how did you handle that?”   
  
“Well,” he shrugged. “It all started to mix and fester, so I started to get, you know, angry, and I just left. I walked home after like an hour, I just couldn’t take it, you know? When you can feel everyone around you, and no one is even trying to control themselves, it’s a lot.”   
  
“Honestly, I’m surprised you went to the party at all. I know that you have had difficulty with large groups in the past.”   
  
“I go to high school every day,” Liam pointed out. “Do you have any idea what it’s like? Being in a brick building with hundreds of kids, who are all going through everything all at once? I get my own ‘supernatural teenager problems,’ and then everyone else’s crap on top of it.”   
  
“I can’t even begin to imagine,” she admitted.    
  
“Good for you,” Liam said, rolling his eyes.    
  
“How was that this week? Were there any changes?” she asked.    
  
“Um,” Liam bit his lip. “Well, yeah, sort of.”   
  
“Alright, do you want to talk about it?”   
  
“There’s this guy,” Liam said. “He’s in my English and History classes, and he’s new. Well, sort of. He used to go to school with us, and live here and all of that, but he and his family moved away a few years ago, and I guess they’re back now, because he showed up in classes this week, and didn’t want to say anything when the teachers asked him if he wanted to introduce himself, and his emotions are…” Liam paused. “I don’t really know how to describe it. He fronts all tough, and like he doesn’t give a fuck, but he’s sad. He’s like, really, really, really sad. So sad than when I’m in class with him, it blocks out like, what everyone else is feeling, and all I can feel is his fucking sadness. It’s awful. It’s all consuming.”   
  
“Oh,” Dr. Morrell looked surprised. “Well that’s quite a shock,” she said. “You’ve never had anything like that before, have you? Where one person’s emotions just blocked everything out?”   
  
“No,” Liam shook his head. “Never. Not even with my family, not even when someone is having a really bad, or I guess really good day.”   
  
“What is this boy’s name?” she asked.    
  
“Theo,” Liam said.    
  
“And what’s he like?”   
  
“I don’t know. He’s a bad boy,” he shrugged. “Leather jacket, doesn’t give a fuck what anyone says, probably has a pack of cigarettes in his pocket, headed straight for juvie or something like that.”   
  
“Liam…” Dr. Morrell warned.    
  
“Sorry,” he said.    
  
“Insulting people won’t help you to feel better about yourself.”   
  
“I know,” Liam groaned. “I just - it’s hard to have positive feelings about the guy when he makes me feel terrible every time we’re in the same room.”   
  
“I can understand that,” she said. “I don’t think that I would be terribly comfortable if someone made me feel overwhelmingly sad every time we were near each other.”   
  
“Yeah,” Liam said. “It’s not a good feeling.”   
  
“But I will say,” she said. “It’s not the worst thing ever, that he blocks out everything else, is it? I mean, that he blocks out other people’s emotions? You’ve talked repeatedly about how much you hate the whiplash from person to person-”   
  
“Well yeah, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t bring me down all the fucking time. Like if it was this all consuming happiness, that would be great, fucking sunshine, but it’s not. It’s this deep, sad blue, and it washes out everything.”   
  
“You’ve used colors to compare your feelings a lot, he feels blue to you?”   
  
“Literally always,” Liam nodded. “Always blue, nothing else. Not like spring, sky blue or anything, dark blue.”   
  
“Sometimes I know you can tell when feelings are directed in a certain way, like how happiness over good grades is different from happiness over a crush reciprocating feelings, or happiness over eating a good snack? Can you tell where his sadness is coming from?”   
  
“I don’t know the guy!” Liam threw his hands in the air, exasperated. “I don’t know what’s making him sad, I just know that he’s like, always sad, and I fucking hate it!”   
  
"Breathe, Liam," Dr. Morrell stated. "I understand why you're feeling frustration, but we can't work this out if you don't breathe. It's alright that you haven't isolated the source of his sadness, I was just wondering, that's all."

Her tone remained calm, and the calmness radiating off of her did help Liam to steady himself. He took a deep breath, nodding. 

"I know. I'm sorry, it's just frustrating, you know? I wish I didn't have all of these emotions all over the place with me, you know? But I guess you're right. It's not the worst that I can only feel him, I just wish that it were, you know." He shrugged.

"Less misery?"

"Yeah, well, you know what they say, misery loves company." Liam sighed. "Hey, misery, what's up? I'm company, I guess."

"Maybe that's not a terrible idea," Dr. Morrell said. 

"What?" Liam furrowed his brow, genuinely confused about what she was talking about. He hadn't exactly suggested anything, and he wasn't sure what she was getting at. 

"Talking to him," she said. "I mean, does he have friends? You said he was new."

"Not that I know of," Liam said. "But if he makes me feel so awful, why would I want to befriend him?"

"Maybe he's sad because he's lonely," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe he just needs someone to talk to."

"I'm not exactly the Beacon Hills Welcome Wagon," Liam pointed out. 

"Well," she shrugged. "Would it be the worst thing if you tried to be?"

"Yes," Liam said quickly, before backpedaling a little. "Well, I don't know, but maybe. I mean, what if it doesn't help, and he's still sad all the time, and then now I have to hang out with him outside of class, too, and get dragged into his depression spiral?"

"Well," she said. "Is it sadness, or depression. Those are different."

"I...I don't know. I'm still not that good at picking things apart like that, you know?" He shrugged. "I can’t quite tell."

"Fair enough." She nodded. "But I have to ask, Liam, what would be the harm in trying? It seems to me like you're sort of unable to come to terms with the fact that something that might be hard for you might also be right or good."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Liam said. "This isn't fun, or fucking easy, but I'm still here talking to you because I know it's right."

"But you wouldn't be," she said. "If you hadn't been coaxed."

"You mean forced?"

"Liam..."   


"What?" Liam sighed. "I got in like, two fights,  _ two _ , and my mom and stepdad decided I needed therapy."

"And it's helping," Dr. Morrell said. "I can tell. You've already made incredible improvements, Liam. You have to know that, you have to see that, to feel it."

"Yeah, except whenever there's literally  _ anyone _ else in the room, sometimes I can't tell right away if what I'm feeling is them or me." Liam slouched down, folding his arms across his chest. 

"I would say that the grumpiness you're feeling right now is all you."

"Funny," Liam rolled his eyes. 

"But back to this boy - Theo, you said it was?"

"Yeah, Theo." Liam nodded. 

"I really do think you should try extending the olive branch of friendship. See what happens, you know?"

"I don't know..."

"What's the worst thing that could happen?"

"He makes me so sad I can never feel anything else ever again for the rest of my life," Liam said. 

"You're catastrophizing," Dr. Morrell said. "That's not going to happen."

"No?" Liam asked. "Do you know every last detail of my ability? Do you know with 100% certainty that that can't happen to me?"

"Well, no, but I've been working with Atypicals for more than 10 years now, and you are not the first Empath that I've come across. None of them have ever gotten stuck with one emotion or the other.

"Not yet," Liam said. "Nothing happens until the first time it does."

"You're searching for excuses not to do this," Dr. Morrell said. "You know that I'm not going to  _ make  _ you talk to him." 

"You asked what the worst thing that could happen was," Liam said. "I was just telling you."

"But you weren't," she said. "What's the worst thing that could  _ actually  _ happen?"

"I don't know," Liam shrugged. "He's a giant dick."

"Okay," she nodded. "And in the grand scheme of things, is that so bad?"

"I don't know, maybe it is." Liam sighed. "I’m not psychic, I can just feel the emotions of everyone around me. Not the same thing."

"I'm not asking you to be psychic, Liam," she said in that same calm, even tone. "I'm just asking you to tell me if you think this is actually a mountain, or if it's a molehill that you're struggling to identify properly."

Liam wrinkled his nose at the metaphor. 

"You know what I mean," she said quickly. 

"Yeah." Liam sighed. "Look, I don't know. I just don't super like the idea of talking to him. I mean, he's got a lot of sadness or whatever, but honestly he doesn't seem that nice. It sort of seems like he's kind of a dick, to be honest."

"Has he ever been a dick to you?"

"Well, no," Liam admitted. 

"Your friends?"

"Not exactly..."

"Not exactly?"

"No..." Liam sighed. 

"So you're just guessing. You're grasping at straws here. The only way to really know what he's like is to talk to him, and I think you know that."

"Look," Liam sighed. "I'll try, okay? If I try, will that get you off my back?"

"Mmm," Dr. Morrell smiled at him. "Temporarily."

"Fine. I'll take it." Liam sighed. "I don't know, I don't really feel like talking anymore, can we do some of those breathing exercises or whatever?"

"Yes, of course." She nodded, and leaned back in her chair. "Alright, close your eyes, I'm going to count to ten..." 

Liam closed his eyes, and allowed her calm voice to wash over him as she narrated his breathing exercises, walking him through the various ways that he could work to calm himself down when he got too worked up. He cleared his mind, focusing on her voice, and his own breath, and not the fact that, every time Theo Raeken was in the room, he felt like he was being absolutely suffocated by the sadness of another person. 

It wasn't a comfortable way to live, but at least he wasn't stuck with it all of the time. 

Theo, it seemed, was.


	2. Chapter Two - Corey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corey Bryant goes in for his first session with Dr. Morrell in hopes that she can help with the strange things that have been happening to him lately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all who read the first chapter! It's lovely to have some folks engaged in what I'm working on! This is the first time I've really spent a lot of time writing Corey, so I hope it's interesting! Feedback is *always* welcome!

Corey Bryant nervously fiddled with the straps of the backpack that rested in his lap as he waited in the therapist’s office.    
  
“Can I get you anything?” The man at the front desk asked. “Some water? A cup of tea?”   
  
“Oh, no, no, no,” Corey shook his head. “Thank you, no, I don’t want to be any trouble.”   
  
“It’s no trouble,” the man said.    
  
“It’s fine, thank you.” Corey gulped. “But really, thank you.”   
  
“Of course. I’m right here if you need anything,” he said with a slight smile. “My name’s Jordan.”   
  
“Okay.” Corey nodded. “Thank you.”   
  
“Dr. Morrell will be with you soon, I think she’s just prepping the new patient paperwork.”   
  
“Okay,” Corey said again, tapping his foot nervously as he did so.    
  
He had never been to therapy before, and he wasn’t really sure what to expect. Sure, he had gone to the school guidance counselor once or twice, but they were so overworked that he was sure that it wasn’t the same. It was very easy to just brush past them, and that was that.    
  
He was just wondering whether or not he should get up and leave when the door to the office opened, and a woman, well put together and standing tall, appeared in the frame.    
  
“Corey?” She asked.    
  
God, her voice was calming, and Corey nodded, standing.    
  
“Um, yeah, that’s...that’s me.”   
  
“Why don’t you come on in, and we can talk, see if this is a good fit for you, okay?”   
  
“Yeah, yes, thank you.”    
  
Dr. Morrell gave him a slight gesture to beckon him into her office, and he followed. There were multiple places to sit - the office chair, he presumed, was hers, and then there was a sofa, flanked by two very comfortable looking arm chairs.    
  
“Sit anywhere you want,” she said, as though she was able to see the struggle going on in his brain of where to sit.    
  
“Okay.” Corey nodded, and set his backpack on the ground before climbing into one of the arm chairs.    
  
“So,” she said. “You’re 16?”    
  
“I got the form signed,” he said quickly. “The one on your website, my parents signed it. Here.” He reached for his backpack, pulling out the crumpled paper that his mother had signed without even looking at it.    
  
“Oh,” she smiled. “Good, I’m glad. Usually when I treat a minor, their parent is present for the first session, but I spoke to your father just a few moments ago, and he signed off as well.”   
  
“Yeah...they don’t really care what I do so long as it doesn’t get in their way. Which sort of brings me…” he bit his lip. “I can pay, but like, your rates are...wow.” His eyes went big. “I can probably only come like once a month. I work a couple of jobs after school, so I can-”   
  
“Corey,” Dr. Morrell said. “Take a deep breath for me? I think you’re getting a little bit ahead of yourself.”   
  
“Oh, yeah, yes.” Corey bit his lip. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I just didn’t want you to put in all this time if I wasn’t going to be able to compensate, you know. I didn’t want you to waste your time on me.”   
  
“Do you feel that way often?” She asked. “As though people waste their time on you?”   
  
“Oh.” Corey shrugged. “I mean, I don’t know. I guess maybe a little. I’ve never really thought about it.”   
  
“Well, that’s what I’m here for, to help you think about things the right way, and help you get on a good track.”   
  
“Yeah,” Corey took a deep breath. “Okay.”   
  
“Can I ask how you found out about my practice?”   
  
“I...found your website while I was searching around, and um.” He bit his lip. “Well your banner said therapy for the uh...the strange and unusual?”   
  
“And you find yourself one of those - strange, or unusual?”   
  
“Both, I think,” Corey nodded.    
  
“Alright. Would you care to extrapolate?”    
  
She leaned back in her chair, a notepad in her lap. The recordings didn’t happen in the evaluations. Gaining the patient’s trust before asking to record them was always key, she had found.    
  
“Well,” Corey bit his lip. “Look, you can’t tell anyone what I tell you, right? You have to keep it a secret?”   
  
“Patient/client confidentiality,” she nodded. “Which applies unless I believe you are a danger to yourself or others.”   
  
“I’m not,” he said quickly. “I would never, I couldn’t-”   
  
“Remember to breathe,” she said softly. “I can see that you’re nervous, but it’s alright. There’s no judgement here.”   
  
“Right.” Corey began chewing on his lip. “Even if I tell you something that’s going to be difficult to believe?”   
  
“Even if you tell me something that’s difficult to believe.”   
  
“You’re going to think I’m crazy,” Corey said. “I mean, I don’t know,  _ I  _ think I might be crazy.”   
  
“What makes you say that?”   
  
“I’m…” he paused. “You really can’t report what I tell you to anyone unless it’s a danger?”   
  
“I promise,” she nodded.    
  
“Okay.” He gulped. “I…I can go invisible.”   
  
She looked at him for a moment, and Corey couldn’t help but wonder if she could hear his heart hammering against his chest.    
  
“Sometimes you  _ feel _ like you’re invisible?” she asked.    
  
“No.” He shook his head. “Um, I can...I can disappear. I mean, I’m still _ there _ , just no one can see me.”   
  
“Okay.” She nodded, making a note on her tablet.    
  
“You think I’m crazy,” Corey said, his voice shaking as he did so. “Oh god. I  _ am _ crazy, aren’t I?”   
  
“No, no, Corey,” she said. “When you say you disappear, can you show me?”   
  
“Um, I don’t know. I can’t just  _ do  _ it. It usually happens when I’m really stressed out, or nervous, or I just don’t  _ want _ to be somewhere anymore. It’s like I get all worked up, and then all of a sudden, I’m just...there, but I’m not?”   
  
“Alright,” she nodded. “Can you try for me? No pressure, no worries if you can’t.”   
  
“Um, alright…”    
  
Corey closed his eyes, trying his best to focus on being invisible, but he had never been able to make it happen on command before, so he wasn’t surprised when he opened his eyes and it was clear that he was still quite visible.    
  
“You can still see me, can’t you.”   
  
“I can.” She nodded.    
  
“You don’t believe me, do you,” he said, looking at her with a sad expression, his tone resigned. “Is this a thing? Like a disorder? Where people believe they can go invisible?”   
  
“Do you have a lot of times in your life where you feel like no one can see you? Or like no one is listening?” She asked.    
  
“Um,” he shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I’m not popular.”   
  
“You said that your parents don’t care what you do,” she said. “Are they really in your life?”   
  
“Um,” Corey looked at the ground, gulping. “No, not...not really. I mean, they make sure I have food, and like clothes, or whatever, but they’re not…” he took a deep breath. “They didn’t mean to have me. I was an accident, and their parents found out, and like tried to pressure them into keeping me, because it was the right thing to do, and I think they thought that their parents, my grandparents, would help out, and I guess they did when I was a baby, but they were all dead by the time I was like, seven, and it was just me and my parents and they didn’t really ever grow to like me much, I mean, they might love me, but I don’t really think they do, and they have made it clear that I’m out by the time I’m 18, and that’s why I work two jobs, because I know that they meant it. As soon as I turn 18, that’s it. They’re gonna just tell me to pack a bag and I’m gonna be out and-”   
  
“Corey.”   
  
“What?” Corey asked.    
  
“You’re not breathing again,” she said softly. “Try taking a few breaths in between thoughts, in between sentences.”   
  
“Well but you asked…” he trailed off.    
  
“I know, but it’s helpful if you can space out your thoughts a little. For you.”   
  
“Oh god.” Corey gulped. “I fucked up. I always do this. God, this is why no one fucking likes me. I can’t even do _ therapy  _ right. I didn’t even know you could do therapy wrong!”   
  
“You’re not doing it wrong.”   
  
“I’m failing like all of my classes, and I have two strikes from one of my jobs for being late because of my other job, and-”   
  
“Corey? Oh my god. Corey?”   
  
“What?”   
  
“You’re…”   
  
“Oh god.” Corey’s eyes widened, but no one could see it. “I did it, didn’t I. You...you can’t see me, can you?”   
  
“No.” Dr.. Morrell shook her head. “No, I most certainly cannot.”   
  
“So I’m not...I’m not crazy?” he asked.    
  
“No, it does not appear you are,” she said.    
  
“Oh my god.” Corey gulped. “No one’s ever noticed before, or seen it, or at least I didn’t feel like I could ask, and-”   
  
“Corey, remember your breathing. We’re going to do some breathing exercises, okay? See if we can get you back, or can you do that on command?”   
  
“I can’t,” Corey shook his head. “It just happens, and then when it’s done, it’s...done. I usually have to calm down first, or when everyone else leaves and I’m in the room alone, I can usually tell when I come back. Sometimes I can’t tell when I disappear, though.”   
  
“That makes sense, since it is usually a reaction to stress,” she said calmly, as though she saw things like this every day. “You’re so focused on the anxiety you’re feeling that you can’t isolate the feeling of actually disappearing from visibility.”   
  
“Oh.” Corey paused. “I think that makes sense?”   
  
“It doesn’t all have to make sense right away,” she said kindly. “Now, close your eyes, and we’re going to practice breathing, okay?”   
  
“Okay.” Corey nodded, leaning back in the chair, listening as Dr. Morrell counted his breaths for him.    
  
He felt himself begin to calm down, and before long, he was almost certain that he was visible again.    
  
“Am I back?” he asked softly.    
  
“Yes, Corey,” she smiled at him. “You are.”   
  
“Okay.” He bit his lip. “So, so you know I’m...I can do that...are you gonna report me to the government or something?”   
  
“No, oh no.” She shook her head. “You might be surprised to learn that you are not the first person with a strange ability to walk into this office.”   
  
“I’m not?” he asked.    
  
“No.” She shook her head. “You’re far from the first Atypical I’ve treated.”   
  
“Atypical?”   
  
“Sorry, that’s what we call people such as yourself, with spectacular abilities.”   
  
“We?” he asked.    
  
“I’m not the only doctor out there who knows about Atypicals,” she said softly. “But I am glad that you latched on to my slogan, for lack of a better word. I think that I can help you, Corey.”   
  
“You can?” He asked.    
  
“Yes.” She nodded. “If you come in for weekly sessions, I’m sure that I can help you learn to control your ability, and these sessions, they don’t have to be just about that. We can talk about anything, alright? School, your feelings, your parents, your jobs, crushes, wants, needs, hopes, dreams. Your ability is not all that you are, alright?”    
  
“I can’t...I can’t afford weekly,” he said softly.    
  
“In special cases, I have been known to take clients on pro-bono.”   
  
“Pro-bono?”   
  
“It means you wouldn’t have to pay.”   
  
“Oh.” Corey’s brow furrowed. “You’d do that? For me?”   
  
“I would.” She nodded. “Almost all of my other patients right now are in a place to pay full price, and I really think that I can do some good for you, Corey.”   
  
“You do?”   
  
“I do.” She nodded.    
  
“Thank you,” he said. “Because it’s all been a lot, and I’m still processing all of it.”   
  
“How long have you been able to do this?”   
  
“I’m honestly not sure,” Corey admitted. “I’ve only really started noticing it recently? I’m on the Lacrosse team, and sometimes we’ll be in the locker room, and the coach will be yelling, and then he starts calling out everyone by name, but he never looks at me, he never addresses me, and I’m definitely one of the weaker links. I think he literally can’t see me. I think he forgets about me, because I’m, well, irrelevant to him, or at least in the moment, and then when he can’t see me, he just...it’s out of sight, out of mind, you know?”   
  
“I see.” She nodded.    
  
“And sometimes with my parents. They’ll be talking, or fighting, and they sort of act like I’m not there all the time anyways, but sometimes lately it’s just seemed like I’m really not, like they actually,  _ actually _ can’t see me.”    
  
“Interesting,” she said.    
  
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I mean, I’ve  _ felt _ invisible for a long time, I guess. I’ve always been that guy, you know, the one that no one ever really paid much mind to, and between my jobs, and everything else, and being sort of a nobody on the lacrosse team…I’ve just never really made any meaningful connections.”   
  
“Can I ask why you play lacrosse?” she asked.    
  
“Well,” he paused. “I want to go to college, but my grades are sort of garbage, and I thought maybe if I had a well rounded application, it might give me a better shot.”   
  
“If you were spread less thin, do you think you might have a chance at improving your grades?”   
  
“I don’t know. Maybe.” He shrugged. “I’m just...fairly unsure about how to do any of it. I’m not that smart, school has never really come easily to me, you know? Even before I started lacrosse.”   
  
“Alright.” She nodded. “Well, do you enjoy lacrosse?”   
  
“Not really,” he shrugged. “I’m not good, so I never play, I mostly just spend practices getting run all over. What, do you think I should quit?”   
  
“I can’t make that decision for you, Corey,” she said softly. “But I think it might be something to consider, yes. You go to school, you work two jobs,  _ and _ you’re on a sports team? It sounds like you never have any time.”   
  
“I think...I think If I’m doing something all the time, it gives me less time to focus on the fact that I’m alone.” The words came out barely above a whisper, and his eyes were cast down at the ground, unable to make eye contact.    
  
“So you’re lonely,” she said. “I don’t know if this will make you feel better, but most teenagers feel lonely. Even the stars of the lacrosse team probably feel isolated.”   
  
“Yeah, I doubt that,” Corey said with a scoff.    
  
“You’d be surprised,” she said. “Loneliness manifests itself in many, many different ways. Some people can feel totally alone in a completely crowded room.”   
  
“I know that feeling,” Corey said softly.    
  
“Well, even the popular kids can feel that way,” she said with a smile.    
  
“Were you popular?” Corey asked.    
  
“We’re not here to talk about me,” she said gently.    
  
“Oh, no, I know, sorry. I just thought maybe you knew from experience…I’m sorry.”   
  
“Hey, it’s okay,” she said softly.    
  
“I feel like I’m fucking this up again,” he admitted.    
  
“You’re not, you know how you said earlier that you didn’t think you could do therapy wrong?”   
  
“Yeah…”   
  
“You were right,” she said. “Everyone has their own way of doing it. This is our first session together. There is so much we still have to learn about what works, alright? I want you to breathe, I think that’s a good place to start.”   
  
“Sometimes that’s a little hard for me.”   
  
“I know.” She smiled gently. “I can tell.”   
  
“Sorry.”   
  
“There’s nothing for you to apologize for, Corey.”   
  
“Right, so - fuck.”   
  
“It’s alright,” she said. “You’re new to this.”   
  
“I think,” he paused, taking a deep breath. “That this is the longest conversation that I’ve had with another person in years, maybe. I mean, there’s Lucas...but...we don’t really talk.”   
  
“Who’s Lucas?”   
  
“He’s this boy that I sort of...we were seeing each other, but he was shy, and not ready to be out, and it’s more or less over now, he’s sweet, but...we weren’t really good at communicating, and I’m probably not in a place to really be a good influence on someone who’s quiet and shy. I mean, I just  _ disappear _ half the time.”   
  
“Do you like him?” She asked.    
  
“I mean, he’s cute, but is the connection there? No, I guess not. It’s just nice to be...wanted. To be touched by someone who knows your name.”   
  
“I think a lot of people seek physical intimacy when they’re lonely,” she said.    
  
“I can see how that would happen,” he bit his lip, nodding. “But like I said, I’m not really seeing him anymore, so I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter.”   
  
“I mean, if you want to talk about it, it matters.”   
  
“I mean, I appreciate that, but I think...I’m starting to feel really tired.”   
  
“Talking to someone, especially so openly, when you’re not used to doing so can be really exhausting,” she said. “Why don’t we focus on getting you some breathing tools, so that you can try and breathe through some of your anxieties, and maybe avoid drawing attention to yourself by disappearing when someone is, perhaps, actually looking at you.”   
  
“Yeah, that would be great, thank you.”   
  
“Alright, lean back, close your eyes, and we’ll get started.”


	3. Chapter Three - Liam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam mulls over what Dr. Morrell said about talking to Theo Raeken, and runs it by his best friend, who knows him better than he knows himself. Just because he trusts Mason implicitly, however, does not mean that he likes what Mason has to say.

“Okay, pros. There have to be pros.”   
  
“I don’t know,” Liam groaned.    
  
He was lying on the floor of his own bedroom, staring up at the ceiling, and Mason, his best friend, was lying stomach down on his bed, peeking over the edge of it, looking at him.   
  
“Come on,” Mason said. “There are always pros. Not everything is a constant stream of terrible, you know, there’s a balance.”   
  
“I feel like that’s easier for you to say when you don’t have to feel the incredibly  _ imbalanced  _ emotions of everyone at our high school.”   
  
“Touch é .” Mason nodded. “But at the same time…”   
  
“Uggghhhh.”   
  
“Hey, we don’t have to do this.”   
  
“I know, I know.” Liam let out a long suffering sigh. “But if I don’t do it, I have to go to therapy next week and tell Dr. Morrell that I didn’t do it, and she’ll want to know  _ why _ , and…” he trailed off. “I don’t know. That option sucks, too.”   
  
“Okay, there it is!” Mason grinned. “Pro - gets the doc off your back about this one thing.”   
  
“Fine,” Liam agreed. “We have one pro. One.”   
  
“Pro #2,” Mason grinned. “He’s hot. Like really hot. Like, he could throw you against the wall, and you’d say ‘thank you’ hot.”   
  
“I feel like that would be on  _ your _ pro list,” Liam said, narrowing his eyes as he looked up at his best friend.    
  
“Okay, okay, I’m just trying to be helpful here.”   
  
“I know, I know. I appreciate it, I do. I just...it’s hard enough, you know? Feeling his sadness when we’re in class? The idea of inviting more of that into my life just really doesn’t seem like a party.”   
  
“Yeah, but it’s talking to him,” Mason reasoned. “It’s not like you’re offering to be his emotional support X-Man.”   
  
“I’m not an X-Man.” Liam rolled his eyes.    
  
They had been having this argument since two years ago, when they were 14, and Liam’s ability had started. Mason had actually been the first person that he had told about the weird feelings, and Mason had gone down the rabbit hole of research. Some of that research had been in his comic book collection, and to this day, he hadn’t quite let that part of it go.    
  
“Yeah, but you  _ could _ be, and that is totally awesome,” Mason reminded him. “But I digress. I’m just saying, she’s not asking you to follow him around, or be his best friend or anything, just to talk to him. I mean, maybe she has a point. Maybe if you do, he’ll start to feel better, or maybe it’s not that his emotion is actually bigger than everyone else’s.”   
  
“No, it is, it’s _ all _ I can feel when he’s in the room.”   
  
“Well, maybe it’s not because it’s the biggest though,” Mason reasoned. “Because that’s _ never  _ happened to you before. I mean, you’ve been around big emotions before. Your mom, when your dad-”   
  
“That was before my ability kicked in.”   
  
“Fine.” Mason shrugged. “Me, when I was getting ready to come out to my parents. The nervousness? That was pretty all-consuming for me, and I know how bad it got to you, too, but it didn’t block anyone else out.”   
  
“What are you saying?”   
  
“I don’t know, honestly,” Mason admitted. “But like, maybe there’s a connection or something.”   
  
“A connection?”   
  
“Yeah, I mean, maybe he’s an Atypical, or another Empath, or maybe you two are like, destined to-”   
  
“Don’t finish that sentence,” Liam said. “That’s  _ your  _ fantasy, not mine.”   
  
“Eh,” Mason shrugged. “I mean, he’s hot, but not exactly my type.”   
  
“You said he could throw you against a wall and you’d say ‘thank you’.”   
  
“That was more like, an objective, hypothetical statement. Besides, you’re missing the point.”   
  
“Am I?” Liam asked. “Am I really?”   
  
“Yes.” Mason nodded. “There’s a reason that you’re feeling him more than anyone else, and maybe it’s that he’s the saddest person that has ever lived, or maybe it’s something else, but regardless, don’t you owe it to yourself to find out?”   
  
“No,” Liam shook his head. “Cause what if it’s really just that he’s sad?”   
  
“Then would it be so bad to try and help him? If he’s really  _ that  _ sad, and it’s really so terrible that it’s all consuming, and you’re the only person that can really tell, then shouldn’t you do something about it?”   
  
“It’s not my responsibility.  _ He’s _ not my responsibility.”   
  
“Yeah, but you have this thing that you can do, that like, no one else can do. It makes you special, it makes you equipped to deal with things other people aren’t, you know? Don’t make me say it.”   
  
“Don’t say it,” Liam said.    
  
“I’m gonna say it.” Mason grinned.    
  
“Oh god, Mase-”   
  
“With great power comes great responsibility.”   
  
“How long have you been sitting on that one?”   
  
“Since the day we realized you had a fricking super  _ power _ .” Mason grinned.    
  
“Remind me why we’re friends again?”   
  
“Um, because when you were having a breakdown because you could feel the emotions of everyone around you, I did not call you crazy, and instead, helped you comb through piles of research, and yes, comic books, until we realized what was going on. And then, you know, all the other normal friend stuff that we do, too.”   
  
“Okay, you have me there,” Liam nodded. “If we stopped hanging out, I guess I would have to try and find another friend, and you already know my big secret…”   
  
“Oh don’t even.” Mason reached back and grabbed a pillow, throwing it down at Liam. “You know you love me.”   
  
“Do I, though?” Liam teased.    
  
“Yup.” Mason grinned. “You may be able to read other people’s emotions, but I can read _ you  _ like a book. Like, first grade reading level. To me, you are a  _ Bob Book _ .”   
  
“I’m gonna kill you,” Liam said with a deadpan tone.    
  
“Lies. Lies and slander.” Mason laughed. “But, back to your Theo Raeken drama. Just go up to him. Just like, say hi, and read the room. You’ll be able to feel it if his emotions change, right? And if you really can only feel him when you’re near him, then you’ll feel it more than you feel anyone else, so you’ll know what’s coming from him. The deck is stacked in your favor, my dude.”   
  
“Doesn’t feel that way,” Liam grumbled.    
  
“No, it never does,” Mason said. “But that’s why people have friend, who remind them of such things.”   
  
“So you’re with Dr. M on this one?” Liam asked. “Like really and truly, you think this is the right call to make?”   
  
“I mean, only you can actually make that choice for you.”   
  
“God, you sound just like her,” Liam whined. “You should be a fucking therapist when you grow up. You’re already like, 90% of the way there.”   
  
“We’ll see. Research is more my thing, but anyways, not the point.” He looked at Liam. “I do think that she may have a point here. And also I’m curious, I’m not gonna lie. I would not have pegged that dude as mega sad.”   
  
“I know, right?” Liam laughed. “He fronts crazy tough, like nothing bothers him at all, but clearly something is bothering him.”   
  
“Yeah.” Mason bit his lip. “Well, people are...never quite what you think they’re gonna be, are they?”   
  
“No, I guess they’re not.” Liam wrinkled his nose. “I still don’t want to do this.”   
  
“Well, lucky for you, it’s Saturday night, so you have all day tomorrow to avoid thinking about it, and decide what you’re gonna say.”   
  
“I have to decide what I’m gonna say?” Liam asked.    
  
“I mean, can’t hurt, right?”   
  
“I was just gonna go with ‘hey’!”   
  
“And then after he says ‘hey’ back?” Mason asked.    
  
“Fuck.” Liam grabbed the pillow that Mason had thrown at him earlier, and pulled it over his face, letting out a half scream into it.    
  
“Hey, it’ll be okay,” Mason said, all of the snark and sarcasm gone from his voice. “It will be. It’s just one thing, and you’ll be fine. No matter how it shakes out, you’re gonna be okay.”   
  
“I…” Liam slowly removed the pillow from his face, turning his gaze back to Mason. “Yeah, I guess you’re right, it won’t be the end of the world. It’s not like I’m gonna go up to him and be like ‘Hi, I’m Liam, you’re sad, what gives?’ He’ll have no reason to think I’m being anything but friendly.”   
  
“And if he’s a dick, he’s a dick.” Mason shrugged. “At least you’ll know. At least you can say you’ve tried. You can check the box and move on.”   
  
“Except if he’s still sad all the time, I’m gonna have to feel it.”   
  
“Yeah, that’s...a shitty one,” Mason admitted. “I mean, it’s kind of crazy, your emotions are usually pinballing all over the place when you’re at school, I mean, you feel little bits of everything, and then this?”   
  
“Trust me, I know. It’s weird. I don’t like it.”   
  
“Do you think you could, like, make him happy?” Mason asked.    
  
“I told you, I’m not looking to date the guy!”   
  
“No, no, no,” Mason laughed. “Put that exasperated face away. I meant like, you know…”   
  
“Mase,” Liam snorted with laughter. “We’ve been over this. I can’t make people feel what I want them to feel, or what  _ I’m  _ feeling, it only works in reverse.”   
  
“I mean, I know, for now, but Dr. Morrell said-”   
  
“I know that she  _ said _ that it’s possible, that I could, at some point, be able to hone my power into projecting emotions, but it just doesn’t do that right now, and frankly, I doubt that it ever will. I can’t even control what comes in and what doesn’t. There’s no way that I would be able to control what someone else is feeling, not when I can’t even control what _ I’m _ feeling.”   
  
“Okay, okay, just thought I’d ask.”   
  
“Can we not talk about this anymore?” Liam asked.    
  
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Mason nodded. “Sorry, you know how fascinating I find all of this, I think it’s good that you can tell me when you want to stop, though, otherwise I’d just go on about it all day.”   
  
“Hey,” Liam grinned. “To steal a phrase from my best friend, it’s all a balance.”   
  
“Oh shut up.” Mason rolled his eyes. “What do you wanna do?”   
  
“Pizza? Netflix?”   
  
“You sure you don’t wanna go to Brett Talbot’s mega rager?” Mason said. “I mean, there’s gonna be like a million people there, tons of booze…”   
  
“Funny.” Liam pulled himself up off of the floor. “You’re a real barrel of laughs, you know that?”   
  
“I try, believe me. I try. Pizza and Netflix sounds great.”   
  
***   
  
“Uggghhh.” Mason tossed his phone on the bed and reached for another piece of pizza.    
  
“You’re annoyed,” Liam said. “Let me guess - Sadie Hawkins dance?”   
  
“Yes.” Mason nodded. “Lydia Martin asked Jackson Whittemore to the dance - a real  _ shocker _ by the way,” he said sarcastically. “And it was some big tra la la, and it’s all over Instagram, and it’s so dumb! I mean, A. Anyone should be able to ask anyone to any dance, regardless of gender, and B. What about the LGBTQ+ community, huh? What about us gay dudes? Or non-binary folks? Or-”   
  
“Mason, can you please try to - your emotions, they’re getting really big, really fast.”   
  
“Oh, shit sorry.” Mason nodded, taking a deep breath. “Sorry, it’s just annoying, that’s all.”   
  
“I know.” Liam smiled. “And I agree with you, but it’s fine, right? I mean, we’ll skip, or we’ll just go together, stag or whatever.”   
  
“We’ll skip,” Mason said. “I know you hate dances, and it’s not like I’m exactly dying to watch everyone else couple up around me.”   
  
“That’s why we make a good team,” Liam said with a smile. “You always have to have someone to skip dances with.”   
  
“You know,” Mason said, looking over at Liam. “For all that we talk about me being a good friend, you’re a good friend too. It’s weird, but it’s sort of nice to have someone who always knows what I’m feeling. There’s just no reason to hide anything from you, because you’d feel it anyways, and sometimes you can even isolate what I’m feeling before I can.”   
  
“Well, like I said,” Liam reached out, stealing an olive from Mason’s slice of pizza. “We’re a good team.”   
  
“Except for when you steal my olives,” Mason said, pulling his pizza away from Liam so that he wouldn’t be able to get a second one without exerting maximum effort.    
  
“ _ Especially _ when I steal your olives,” Liam teased.    
  
“See? You’re feeling better already. Maybe I  _ am _ Atypical, and my power is making people feel better! Or maybe it’s so specific that it’s just you,” Mason teased.    
  
“You’re ridiculous,” Liam said with a fond smile, and a roll of his eyes.    
  
“You need it,” Mason said. “To counter your anger, grumpiness, and general teenage superhero meltdowns.”   
  
“I’m not a superhero!” Liam insisted.    
  
“Well, maybe not yet, but we can get you a cape, and a mask! You’d be all set.”   
  
“Ah, yes, I can just see it now,” Liam laughed. “The Adventures of Super Feelings Boy, and his sidekick, Cheer Up Charlie!”   
  
“Oh my god.” Mason laughed alongside his best friend. “Is it weird that I would totally read that graphic novel?”   
  
“A little bit, yeah?” Liam nodded. “But you’re weird, so it checks out.”   
  
“Oh, _ I’m  _ weird?” Mason challenged.    
  
“We’re both weird,” Liam gave in.    
  
“Part of that good team thing, huh?” Mason nudged him with his elbow, trying to keep the mood light. They had already had their heavy conversation for the night, and he didn’t want Liam to fade back into one of his less pleasant moods.    
  
Liam, for his part, allowed himself to fade into the comfort of being around his best friend, the comfort of knowing that, no matter what happened, he had someone that didn’t think he was some supernatural freak, someone who was fairly in control of his emotions, and was always willing to be open and honest with Liam. Mason’s emotions were comfortable, and Liam found him easy to talk to, easy to be around. Other kids his age? Not so much.    
  
Theo Raeken, with his immense sadness, was not an appealing option for trying to make a new friend, and yet if Mason thought it was a good idea, then maybe it was. They had been friends since they were still playing in sandboxes, and Mason would never do anything to lead Liam astray intentionally. Dr. Morrell may have been a professional, but no one knew Liam the way that his best friend.   
  
With that thought on his mind, Liam resolved to at least try and talk to Theo on Monday. As Mason had said, at least that way, even if it went pear-shaped, he could say that he had tried.


	4. Chapter Four - Corey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corey has a close call with his ability in a public setting, and struggles to deal with his myriad of issues. When he takes his concerns to Dr. Morrell, they devise a plan to try and help curb some of his loneliness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, this chapter involves mentions of self harm.

“Mr. Bryant?”    
  
“Huh?” Corey snapped awake, reaching up to rub his eyes.    
  
“Sleeping in class?” Mr. Grant, Corey’s The 10th Grade English Teacher at Beacon Hills High looked down at the boy, one eye raised. “Again?”   
  
“I’m sorry, sir,” Corey said, gulping. “It won’t happen again.”   
  
“That’s what you said last time.”   
  
Corey looked down at his desk, sinking into his chair, feeling incredibly small and self conscious, especially with the eyes of everyone in the class on him.    
  
“I’ll do better, I’m sorry.”   
  
“How about you make amends by answering my question?”   
  
“Okay.” Corey shifted nervously. “What was the question.”   
  
“ _ The Great Gatsby _ ,” he said, holding up a copy of the book that they were all to have read. “What did the green light represent?”   
  
“Um.” Corey reached for his copy on his desk, fumbling awkwardly through it. “It represented, um, uh…”   
  
“Here, let me make this a little easier,” he said. “ _ Who _ did the green light represent?”   
  
“Um, the green light represented, um, shit, uh-”   
  
“Language, Mr. Bryant.”   
  
“Sorry, sorry.” Corey felt his heart rate increasing, and a tightness growing in his chest.    
  
“Well?” Mr. Grant folded his arms across his chest, his copy of the book dangling from one hand. “Did you even read the book, Mr. Bryant?”   
  
“I tried,” Corey said softly. “I did, I kept-”   
  
“Falling asleep?”   
  
“I’m sorry.” Corey looked down again.    
  
“Maybe someone else in the class can help you out. Can anyone else tell me who the green light represented?”   
  
Almost every hand in the class shot up, and Corey gulped. Everyone was looking at him, everyone was judging him, he was nervous, and he could feel it. What if this was the time? What if this was when it happened? What if he disappeared, in front of Mr. Grant’s entire third period English class, and then everyone would know what a freak he was?   
  
With 20 pairs of eyes boring in on him, Corey stood up, and ran from the classroom. He bolted into the bathroom, and closed himself in a stall, hyperventilating as he sat on the toilet seat, his knees pulled up to his chest, tears welling in his eyes. He was disappearing. He knew it. He could  _ feel  _ it in a way that he hadn’t before, and maybe it was the breathing exercises that Dr. Morrell had given him, or maybe it was something else, but he knew that, as he sat there, hugging his knees, he was invisible.    
  
And maybe it was just better that way.    
  
***   
  
“It almost happened in class,” Corey said softly as he kicked his shoes off and folded his body into the armchair in Dr. Morrell’s office.    
  
He was nervous, and upset, and unable to make eye contact. It had been two days since the incident in English class, and returning to class had been challenging. Even so, he had done it, and now here he was, finally able to talk about it with his therapist.    
  
“But you didn’t?” She asked.    
  
“No.”    
  
“Well that’s good, isn’t it? You stopped yourself from disappearing?”   
  
“Oh, no, I still...disappeared, I just didn’t do it in front of the class. When I started to feel sure that it was going to happen, I left.”   
  
“You left class?”   
  
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I just ran. I couldn’t let it happen, and everyone was staring at me, and judging me, and thinking about how stupid I was, and I just couldn’t handle it. I didn’t want to be there, I didn’t want them to be looking at me anymore, and I knew that, soon, they wouldn’t be. So I ran.”   
  
“How did this all come about?” She questioned.    
  
“Um.” Corey wiggled around in the chair, trying to find a more comfortable position. “I sort of fell asleep in class, and the teacher woke me up - Mr. Grant - and he asked me a question about the book we were reading.  _ The Great Gatsby _ , only I didn’t know the answer, so he simplified the question like I was some sort of child, but I  _ still _ didn’t know the answer, and then he accused me of not having read the book  _ because  _ the question was so simple-”   
  
“Breathe,” Dr. Morrell reminded him.    
  
“Right.” Corey nodded, closing his eyes. “I’m trying, I am.”   
  
“I know.” She smiled gently at him. “I know you are, Corey. Just take a couple of deep breaths, and continue.”   
  
His eyes still closed, Corey did so, steadying his heart rate just a little before opening his eyes again to continue.   
  
“I told him that I had tried to read the book, but I hadn’t gotten through it.”   
  
“Because of all of your jobs?”   
  
“Yeah. But...and then he asked the entire class if anyone else could answer the question, and like, everyone raised their hands. They  _ all _ knew the answer, even kids I’m pretty sure also didn’t read the book, like it’s high school! I’m not the only one who didn’t read it! But they all knew it, so it must have been a very easy question, and they all were just staring at me, and judging me, and so I ran to the bathroom and hid.”   
  
“I think that makes sense,” Dr. Morrell offered. “In your position, I would have to assume I would have done the exact same thing.”   
  
“Still doesn’t feel good,” Corey said with a shrug.    
  
“No, I can’t imagine that it would, but I think you should look at the positives here.”   
  
“What positives?”   
  
“You knew that your ability was about to kick in, and you got out of there. You managed to isolate the feeling, to know that it was coming, and remove yourself from the stressful situation in time to get somewhere safe.”   
  
“If you can consider a public high school bathroom safe…”   
  
“You know what I mean. Somewhere that you could be alone, somewhere that you could disappear safely, and not have to worry about everyone staring at you.”   
  
“Except now I’m the guy that ran out of class because he couldn’t answer a simple question about a standard book.”   
  
“I think you’re being awfully hard on yourself.” Dr. Morrell paused, looking at Corey. “You’re 16 years old, you’re dealing with a superhuman ability that no one in your life knows about, except for your therapist. You work two jobs, you’re in school, you play a sport, and you don’t exactly have support in your home life. I honestly think it’s worthy of recognition that you’re upright.”   
  
“Oh,” Corey paused. “Well I took your advice, actually. I’m not on the team anymore.”   
  
“Oh?”   
  
“I think you were right. It was just crowding up my schedule, and it wasn’t actually doing me any good.”   
  
“I think you made the right choice, I’m proud of you - but even without Lacrosse, Corey, you still have so much on your plate, and you’re dealing with it all alone. That’s a lot to ask of a 16 year old boy. Hell, that’s a lot to ask of anyone.”   
  
“What am I supposed to do?” he asked. “I have to go to school, and I need the jobs, because anything that isn’t an absolute necessity, I have to pay for myself. I pay for my car, I pay for the bulk of my clothes, any snacks, coffee to keep me awake so that I can study,” he bit his lip. “And I have to save everything I can, because when I turn 18, I’m going to have to pay for an apartment, and all of my bills, and I can’t just go into that with nothing, you know?”   
  
“I’m not suggesting you drop anything else,” she said softly. “I’m just acknowledging how impressive it is that you’re balancing all of that, and then to throw what is essentially a super power into the mix?”   
  
“I don’t really see how disappearing when I’m scared is a super power.”   
  
“It’s a superhuman ability that almost no one in the world has.”   
  
“In the world of abilities, it’s a pretty lame one.”   
  
“Whether you feel it or not, you’re special, Corey. Very, very special.”   
  
“What’s the point of being special if you’re all alone with it? I would rather be normal than special! I would rather have friends, or be able to handle myself in school, or be able to play Lacrosse well than be special! I don’t want this! It’s just proof of how weak I am, what a coward I am. I can’t do  _ anything  _ except disappear. That’s all I am. Corey Bryant, the nobody, who could disappear forever, and no one would notice. No one would even care.”   
  
“Corey…” Dr. Morrell’s face was riddled with concern. “I have to ask this, and I am very sorry, but do you ever consider...harming yourself?”    
  
“Um.” Corey squirmed. “I have - thought about it, I mean. I haven’t done it, I...I tried once, but I got too scared. I guess I’m too fucking weak to even do that. But that was...that was over a year ago, I’m not suicidal, I promise. Sometimes I sort of wish that I were, though. I think it might be sort of easier? For me, for a lot of other people, definitely for my parents, if I weren’t around anymore.”   
  
“This is important,” she said. “If you’re ever having those thoughts, those feelings, I need you to call me right away, okay? And if I don’t pick up, my voicemail will direct you to an emergency number that you can call, and I want you to do that, is that clear?”   
  
Corey nodded.    
  
“I understand.”   
  
“Good.” She relaxed a little in her seat. “Now, you’ve talked about what happened in your English class, and quitting Lacrosse, did anything else happen this week? Either related to your ability, or not?”   
  
“I mean,” Corey shrugged. “I went to school, I went to work, I went home and went to sleep, and did it all over again. There was a party this weekend - well, there’s a party every weekend, somewhere - but I didn’t go.”   
  
“Have you gone to parties in the past?” She asked.    
  
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I go sometimes, um…” he bit his lip. “It’s nice, to escape a little. And like, no one gate keeps these parties, anyone could show up, and they’re so big that no one would really notice anyways if the awkward kid they don’t know slips in for a few drinks.”   
  
“So you drink?” She asked.    
  
“Look, I’m 16, I’m not the only guy who has a drink at parties, and I don’t drive. I always walk, or take the bus,” he said defensively.   
  
“I’m not trying to accuse you of anything, Corey. I’m just trying to get an accurate picture of everything. You can relax, I’m not going to judge you. Should you drink at 16? No, but you’re right. Most kids do it, and while I will advise you against it until I’m blue in the face, I also know that, to a degree, it’s normal. As long as you’re not using it as a crutch.”   
  
“I mean,” Corey shrugged. “I don’t like  _ have _ to have a drink every day or anything like that, but it’s...kind of nice to have the release. It’s like...I’m still me, but different. I have a little more confidence - that’s how I first started seeing Lucas. I had a couple drinks at a party, and he was there looking all cute leaning up against the wall by himself, and I made a move.”   
  
“Well, they call it liquid courage for a reason,” she said. “But you said last session that you and Lucas weren’t really anything?”   
  
“That doesn’t mean that being with him didn’t make me feel good, you know? That it didn’t make me feel wanted, even if it was just for a little while.”   
  
“And have you sought that intimacy out since? With anyone else?”   
  
“Um.” Corey shrugged. “I went home with this one guy a few weeks ago, I guess he was a little older, he didn’t go to my school. I think he was home on break from college,” he said. “But it wasn’t the same. I mean, Lucas and I may not have had a deep connection, but he was happy that I was there, and to this guy, I think I was just a warm body, you know? It didn’t feel the same. Lucas was sweet, this guy didn’t hurt me or anything, but he wasn’t...I don’t know. He was hot, and...talented, but…”   
  
“But you crave more than just sex,” she said. “You crave intimacy. You want someone to look at you, and see  _ you _ .”   
  
“Yeah.” Corey’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I would really like that.”   
  
“You’re young,” she said. “But you have a lot to offer, Corey. There’s going to be someone amazing-”   
  
“Please don’t,” Corey said. “This isn’t  _ High School Musical  _ or whatever. I’m not gonna turn around a corner and bump into some cute, new exchange student, and lock eyes with him as I help him pick up his books. I’m the awkward gay kid that nobody even teases for being gay, because I’m  _ that _ far off of their radar. I don’t even merit being a joke. I’m just  _ there _ , and then sometimes I’m not, and I think that’s my lot in life.”   
  
“Do you believe that?” Dr. Morrell tilted her head to the side. “That someone can have just one lot in life, and that because this is how things are now, they will always be like this?”   
  
“I don’t know,” Corey admitted. “But aside from Lucas, there hasn’t ever been anyone.”   
  
“And why are you so sure that things with Lucas won’t work out?”   
  
“Because he’s messed up, too. He’s quiet, and shy, and kind of a mess, and I was brave enough to handle that when I’d had a few drinks, but it’s too much. I can’t be the support that he needs, and he can’t be anything for me, and we both just knew it wasn’t right. I mean, the sex was...fine,” he felt his cheeks growing hot. “But that was all it was, and we both wanted more.”   
  
“Do you think that having that, having a boyfriend, would solve your problems?”   
  
“No,” Corey shook his head. “I mean, maybe some of them, yeah, depending on the guy, but honestly, I think I’d just like to have a  _ friend _ .”   
  
“And it can’t be Lucas?”   
  


“It’s too weird with him now.”   
  
“I understand.” She nodded. “Well, Corey Bryant, I think that we should spend the next few sessions focusing on finding a way to make you a friend.”   
  
“How are we supposed to do that?”   
  
“This week, while you’re at school, at work, anywhere that you are, I want you to look around. I want you to really take in your surroundings, the people in them, and isolate a small list of people that you think you might enjoy spending time with. Bring me that list, and we will figure out how to get you confident enough - without the use of alcohol - to talk to at least one of them, and see where it goes.”   
  
Corey gulped.    
  
“That sounds really, really stressful.”   
  
“Well, that’s what I’m here for,” she said. “To give you the tools to overcome that stress. I know that you’re used to being all alone, Corey, but you aren’t. Not anymore.”   
  
“Okay.” Corey nodded.    
  
“So practice your breathing, make that list, and I will see you next week?”   
  
“Yes.” Corey shifted, hanging his legs over the chair and putting his shoes back on. He grabbed his backpack and headed for the door before turning back around. “And thank you. For everything. I don’t feel great, but I do feel better.”   
  
“Well,” Dr. Morrell leaned back in her chair. “That’s progress.”   
  



	5. Chapter Five - Liam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam botches not one, but two attempts to talk to Theo, and the relationship between the two young men reaches new tensions.

“So, Liam,” Dr. Morrell looked at Liam as he finished settling into the couch. “How do you feel today?”  
  
“Good, actually,” he said with a smile. “Really...happy, and light, like I’m walking on air? It’s weird. I’m all fluttery?”   
  
“Were you feeling that way when you walked into the office?” she asked.   
  
“No.” Liam shook his head. “Definitely not.” He paused. “Fuck, this isn’t real, is it?”   
  
“It’s real,” she said softly. “It’s always real, but I’m guessing the emotions you’re picking up on are Jordan’s.”   
  
“Jordan’s?”   
  
“His boyfriend proposed last night.”   
  
“Oh.” Liam looked surprised. “Wait, that grumpy guy who picks him up sometimes?”   
  
“The very same.” Dr. Morrell smiled.   
  
“So all of these good, nice feelings, are Jordan’s happy engagement feelings?” Liam asked.   
  
“That would be my guess, yes.” She nodded.   
  
“God,” Liam sighed. “I can’t remember the last time I had happy feelings like that that actually belonged to _me_. I fucking hate it! Like I felt so good when I walked in, but it’s because Jordan is all happy from getting engaged? I mean, I’m happy for him, don’t get me wrong, but…” he shrugged.   
  
“But you wish that those good feelings belonged to you.”   
  
“Well, yeah.” Liam shrugged. “It’s hard, wanting that, and feeling other people have it, and then I feel it - which, don’t get me wrong, it’s nice. In some ways, though, you know...it’s like when you wake up from a bad dream, and you feel better because it wasn’t real, but you wake up from a good dream, and it feels worse? It’s sort of like that, I think. Like, with the bad emotions, the bad feelings, when I feel them off of other people, it sucks when it’s happening, but when it’s over, it’s a huge relief, because they weren’t mine. They don’t stick with me when I’m not “within range” of that person anymore. The good feelings? When they’re gone, when they leave with their person, it sucks. A lot.”   
  
“I think that is a really good way of putting it,” Dr. Morrell said. “So you’re struggling, with the emotions?”   
  
“Yeah.” He sighed. “And school today was...a lot, too.”   
  
“Would you like to talk about that?”   
  
“I mean, not really, but I guess that’s sort of what my parents are paying you for, so I sort of have to, don’t I?”   
  
“You don’t have to talk about anything you’re not ready to,” she said. “We can start with something else. I know last week, we had talked about you introducing yourself to that boy, Theo? The one with the overwhelming feelings? Did you do that?”   
  
“Okay, so that’s sort of the thing,” Liam sighed. “I was going to. I was. Or at least I think I was. I was planning to. It took me a few days to sort of psych myself up for it, and then I was gonna do it today, because you know, last day before the session…”   
  
“There’s no immediate timeline on this,” Dr. Morrell explained. “Just because it didn’t happen this week doesn’t mean you missed your window.”   
  
“No, I know, I just...I tried. I set my stuff down before history, and I was about to walk over to him, when Hayden came up to me - she’s this girl in a few of my classes, I’ve known her for a while. We didn’t always get along, but I guess she’s pretty cool now. Anyways, my school is having a Sadie Hawkins dance, where the girls ask the guys? Which is utter bullshit, I mean, my best friend is gay, and I think he has a point when he’s saying that it’s got a lot of gender and sexual orientation related issues, but they’re doing it anyways, and she was all...oh god.” He wrinkled his nose. “Her feelings were terrible. She came up to me, and she was _so_ nervous, and she asked me to the dance. I think that’s where the nerves were coming from, you know?”   
  
“That...makes sense. Butterflies before something like that are very normal.”   
  
“Right, but then I got nervous, and she asked me to the dance, and I still had her butterflies, and I panicked, and I didn’t know what to do, so I said ‘uh, sure!’ and then she got this big smile on her face, but she was like, still coming down from being nervous, so the jitters were still there, and I could feel them, and then they sort of...bled in to what I was supposed to do, and I totally whimped out.”   
  
“I’m sorry to hear that, but it seems like you had a good reason,” Dr. Morrell said. “How do you feel about going to the dance with Hayden?”   
  
“I mean.” Liam shrugged. “Big school events like that sort of suck for me. It’s not like football, where everyone’s focused on the game. Everyone is all nervous, and hormonal, or really excited, or like, in love or in lust, and it’s just...a lot.”   
  
“But you said you’d go.”   
  
“I did. And I will. Which will not be a fun conversation to have with Mason, because I said that I would skip it with him, but Hayden’s cool.”   
  
“You like her?”   
  
“I mean.” He shrugged again. “She’s nice, and she’s pretty.”   
  
“There’s more to it than that.”   
  
“I just don’t feel comfortable with stuff like that. I know that she likes me, and that radiates those feelings, and it’s like Jordan’s engagement happiness. I don’t know if it’s real or not. Like when she was right next to me after, it was like yeah. It felt good, you know? I liked her. But then we didn’t share our next class, and the feelings just weren’t really there anymore. But it’s confusing! My ability is literally tricking me into having feelings for someone!”   
  
“Maybe you should tell her that,” Dr. Morrell said.   
  
“‘Oh, sorry Hayden, I don’t think I should go to the dance with you because my fucked up super power reflects your emotions on me, so when I’m in the same room as you, I totally think I have a crush on you, but then when you walk out the door it’s gone?’ Yeah, I bet that would go over real fucking well.”   
  
“I’m sure,” Dr. Morrell began. “That there is a more nuanced way of saying it.”   
  
“But I told her in front of our entire history class that I would go. Do you know how embarrassing it would be for her if I went back on that?” He shook his head. “She doesn’t deserve that. I have felt more than my fair share of embarrassment. I don’t wanna do that to her.”   
  
“That’s good of you, Liam, just be careful not to lead her on.”   
  
“I’ll do my best.”   
  
“That’s really all that anyone can ask of you,” she said with a smile.   
  
“Yeah, I guess…” But Liam wasn’t really sure that he agreed with that.   
  
Sometimes, he was sure, his best just wasn’t good enough.   
  
***   
  
Liam could always tell when Theo walked into history class. The bustle of all of the other emotions stopped, and became a whirlpool of sadness. Liam had just settled into his Thursday class when that began for him.   
  
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.   
  
“Yo, Raeken.” A few of the boys from the football team who were in his class gathered around Theo’s desk.   
  
“Fuck off,” Theo said.   
  
“Nah, not yet,” one of the guys said. “Did you really get a girl pregnant at your old school?”   
  
“Yeah, actually. Pretty sure it was your mom,” Theo shot back.   
  
“Ouch, burn.” Billy, one of the other guys on the team, laughed, before knocking Theo’s history textbook from his desk to the ground.   
  
“Mature." Theo rolled his eyes as he bent down to pick up the book.   
  
Theo was good at pretending that everything was fine, but god, Liam could feel the difference. He felt terrible. Theo’s sadness was mounting, and Liam wasn’t sure how that was even possible. He wanted the football team to go the fuck away, to leave Theo alone so that he could go back to his usual overwhelming sadness, instead of this heightened sadness from the bullying. 

God, where was the teacher?  
  
“Aw, you think you’re better than us, Raeken?” Billy tilted his head to the side. “That’s real cute, because you know you’re not. You’re just a druggie burn out with no future, and-”   
  
“STOP!” Liam shouted as he stood up from his desk. The emotions were too much, too big, and he couldn’t contain himself. He had to put an end to this so that he could breathe again.   
  
“Excuse me?” Billy raised an eyebrow.   
  
“Can’t you see he’s fucking sad enough as it is? Leave him the fuck alone!”   
  
“What are you gonna do, Dunbar? Get your LAX bros, and have a rumble in the parking lot?”   
  
“I mean it, Billy,” Liam snarled. “Back off.”   
  
“Hey,” Theo stood up, getting in Liam’s face. “I don’t need you fighting my battles for me."   
  
But Liam could feel Theo’s emotions, he could feel sadness still, and not the anger and toughness that Theo was fronting.   
  
“What is going on here?” Mr. Westover entered the classroom.   
  
“Nothing,” Theo said, returning to his seat. “Just receiving a belated welcome from the Beacon Hills Jock contingent.”   
  
“Mr. Dunbar? Mr. Hall?”   
  
“What he said,” Billy nodded.   
  
“Yeah,” Liam agreed, but he still felt heightened.   
  
Liam slumped back into his desk, and he felt like garbage. He felt like he needed a nap, and like he was being overtaken by the other man’s feelings. They were everywhere, and he couldn’t focus on that day’s lesson.   
  
Fortunately, he had lunch after, but before Liam could even make it to the cafeteria, he found himself pulled into an empty classroom.   
  
“What the hell was that back there?” Theo Raeken slammed the door shut behind him.   
  
“What?” Liam gulped.   
  
“Why the fuck did you tell those assholes I was sad?”   
  
“Oh, um…” Liam shrugged. “I just...assumed, because they were bullying you.”   
  
“Do I look sad to you?” Theo asked.   
  
Liam took in his appearance. From head to toe, Theo looked every bit the bad boy that he seemed to want to be. He was wearing dark jeans with black boots, and his dark blue t-shirt was mostly hidden under a leather jacket. He had slightly shaggy hair, just enough stubble to look older than his 16 years, and yeah, he looked tough.   
  
He _didn’t_ look sad.   
  
“Well, no…” Liam bit his lip.   
  
“Stay in your own lane next time, Dunbar,” Theo said. “I don’t need your help.”   
  
But Liam could still feel it. He could still feel that sadness welling inside of him, like it was a bottomless pit of sorrow, and he didn’t understand it. Outwardly, Theo was displaying anger and aggression, but on the inside, Liam could tell that that wasn’t what he was feeling.   
  
“I didn’t mean to make it worse,” Liam said softly.   
  
“What?” Theo frowned.   
  
“With Billy. I didn’t mean to-”   
  
“It’s fine, Dunbar,” Theo said. “You didn’t make it worse.”   
  
“I know I did!” Liam argued.   
  
It was difficult to control himself when Theo’s emotions were making him feel so awful. It was difficult to harness any good will and emotional balance when he felt as sad as Theo did. However, he knew the emotions weren’t his, and he knew that, if he wasn’t careful, the sadness weighing in on him would turn into that classic Liam Dunbar anger that he was known for.   
  
“You don’t know shit about me,” Theo retorted, making his way towards the door.   
  
“I know you’re _full_ of shit!” Liam responded.   
  
“Excuse me?” Theo turned back around, one eyebrow raised.   
  
“Look, you can play ‘bad boy tough guy’ all you want, but I can see through that bullshit. I know that those guys fucking with you bothered you, and I know that you’re having a rough time - it makes sense, you’re the new kid, I-”   
  
“What?” Theo walked right up to Liam. “You what?”   
  
“I…” Liam shrugged. “Just know what it’s like to not fit in.”   
  
“Really?” Theo raised an eyebrow. “Do you really, Mr. Captain of the Lacrosse Team? Mr. Popularity?”   
  
“Yeah.” Liam held his ground. “I do. You don’t know as much about me as you think you do.”   
  
“That goes both ways,” Theo snarled.   
  
“Maybe.” Liam shrugged again. “Maybe not.”   
  
“Look, Dunbar,” Theo snapped. “Whatever it is you think you know? You don’t. I suggest you get out of my way, and stay the fuck out of my business. Think you can handle that?”   
  
“I-”   
  
“Let me rephrase,” Theo said. “Stay out of my business, Dunbar, or things are gonna get really bad for you.”   
  
“Are you trying to threaten me?” Liam asked, shocked.   
  
“No,” Theo smirked. “I _am_ threatening you.”   
  
And with that, he was out the door, leaving Liam stunned, and confused by their interaction. Sure, maybe he had been going about things the wrong way, but he had been doing the best that he could, and it apparently wasn’t good enough. Just as he had feared.   
  
Liam didn’t know what Theo Raeken’s deal was, but at the very least, he could now tell Dr. Morrell that he had tried. The next time he had an appointment, he could explain to her that he had talked to Theo, and that Theo clearly wanted nothing to do with him. He could move on from this, and that would be that.   
  
Sure, he would still have to deal with Theo’s feelings in class, but if it was then, and only then, he was sure that he would find a way to handle it. It wouldn’t be forever, after all. And maybe, with Dr. Morrell’s help, he would be able to get the assistance he needed to learn how to block out those bad feelings altogether. Because of Theo, he had a heightened motivation to do that, and he hoped that, come Wednesday, when he had his next appointment, they would be able to take a more aggressive approach to honing his abilities.   
  
Until then, he would just have to breathe through it, and hope for the best.


	6. Chapter Six - Corey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While working a late shift at the diner, Corey serves a bunch of his classmates after the Sadie Hawkins dance, and finds himself pulled in by the kindness of a boy in his Spanish class.

“Great.” Corey sighed as the door to the diner where he worked opened, and teenagers in formal-wear began to pour in.    
  
This was the only all night diner in Beacon Hills, and Corey had known that, once the Sadie Hawkins dance let out, he would be experiencing an influx of his classmates, but that didn’t mean that he was looking forward to it.    
  
Of course, going to the dance had never been on his list of things to do. First of all, he didn’t have anyone to go with, as a date, or as friends, and that made it seem less than appealing, and second? Being at a big school event like that would make him feel more invisible than ever. Everyone else would be paired off or grouped up and having fun, and it would remind him of just how alone he really was.    
  
He knew that it was his mission for the week to work on finding a friend, but he was struggling with that. Most of the people that he worked with were in college or older, and while some of them were really nice, he didn’t feel like they were the right people for his friendship experiment. Was it so wrong for him to want a peer? Someone his own age, that went to his school? Someone that he could sit with at lunch, and do homework with, and talk to about the crazy things that other kids were doing?    
  
Corey hated how much he wanted that, how much he wanted to be one of the teenagers shoved into the booths, laughing together, all excited and happy from the dance, rather than to be the one serving them.    
  
Still, that wasn’t up to him. He wasn’t one of the popular kids, and even when he had been on the lacrosse team, he hadn’t been inner circle. Hell, half of the guys that were crowded around the diner’s largest table with their dates had been on the team, and he doubted any of them really knew who he was. He had been insignificant then, and he was insignificant now.    
  
“Hi,” he walked up to the loud table, a smile plastered on his face, his pad and pencil in his hand. With a group this big, he was not going to chance trying to remember their orders. “Can I start you off with drinks while you look over the menu?”   
  
Half of the table started talking at once, and he gulped, trying to write it all down as fast as he could. He also got the impression that splitting this check was going to be a nightmare, and the tip would probably be even worse. Large groups of popular teenagers were not his favorite demographic of clients.    
  
“Hey, hey, shut up!” One of the boys at the table slammed his palm down, and everyone calmed. “Okay, thanks. I bet Corey can’t take your orders when you’re all yelling at once, so let’s just go around the table and say what we want, okay? I’ll start. I would love some water, and a cup of coffee.”   
  
Mason Hewitt.    
  
And he had called Corey by name.    
  
Did he know who he was, or had he simply read the nametag on Corey’s apron when he had walked in? Corey told himself that it had to be the apron, but either way, he was still grateful that Mason had gotten his friends under control.    
  
Everyone knew Mason Hewitt. He was popular, but he wasn’t a total jock. He was in pretty much entirely AP classes, but he hung out with the cool kids, and managed to fit in rather easily. Corey never heard anyone giving him shirt for being a nerd, or gay, or for anything, really, and he was pretty sure that was because Mason was so incredibly nice and likeable .    
  
Even Corey knew that Mason was nice, and this was proof.    
  
Corey mouthed a “thank you” to Mason as the group calmed down, going around the table, ordering their drinks one by one. Sure, it was still going to be a nightmare to split it all up at the end of the meal, but at least he was less likely to get yelled at for getting their drinks wrong.    
  
As soon as he had all of the orders, the table exploded into conversation again, and he went to punch the order in, being sure to get all of the drinks himself. He brought out the round of coffees, ensuring that Mason got his first. It was a small way of saying “thank you” to the boy for getting his friends in line.    
  
“Has everyone had enough time to look at the menu?” Corey asked, getting his notepad back out to take their orders.    
  
Mason didn’t even give the others a chance to start speaking before he began facilitating again, and just like with the drinks, they went around the table, ordering separately. Corey did his best to note who had ordered what, but he was feeling pretty overwhelmed as he put the order in. There were 18 people at the table, and he still had his normal tables.    
  
As he worked, making sure that everything was taken care of for all of his customers, he couldn’t help but hear all of the laughing and merriment from the table full of his classmates. He didn’t know why he couldn’t be like them. He didn’t understand why he had to be different, why he had to be “special” in such an isolating way. He wished that he could be better, that he could be more social, but it wasn’t so easy. After all, how did he learn to be something that he wasn’t?   
  
That, he supposed, was what he was working on with Dr. Morrell. He was learning how to talk to people, how to be around people, to figure out how to actually make a friend, and hopefully, to cultivate and maintain that friendship. He felt, though, that he was a long way off from that.   
  
“Hey.”   
  
Corey looked up as he was printing a receipt for one of his tables that was finished. Mason Hewitt stood in front of him.    
  
“Oh, hey.” Corey paused. “Sorry - do you need a refill on your coffee? I’m sorry, I’ll come by as soon as I drop this-”   
  
“No, no,” Mason smiled, shaking his head. “I was just coming to give you my card?” He handed over his credit card. “I can pay for my table’s check, and then everyone can Venmo me. I thought it would just be easier this way, and you can give me the itemized list so I can collect?”   
  
“Oh.” Corey was taken aback. “Oh, yeah, I can absolutely do that. Thank you.” He took Mason’s card, and put it in with the order. “That makes my life a lot easier.”   
  
“Yeah, I thought it might.” Mason returned his card to his wallet when Corey handed it back, but he didn’t walk away. “So, you missed out on the dance, huh?”   
  
“Oh.” Corey shrugged. “I mean, it’s not really my thing, anyways, so it’s fine.”   
  
“Yeah, honestly? It’s not really my thing either, but all my friends were going, so…” Mason trailed off. “I mean, it wasn’t that bad, I guess, just the whole Sadie Hawkins thing rubs me the wrong way, and whatnot.”   
  
“Same,” Corey admitted. “Anyways, um, I’ll bring you the check when everyone’s done ordering, and I’ll be over in a few minutes to do refills, and see if anyone wants dessert?”   
  
“Oh,” Mason smiled. “I can assure you, at least some of us are going to want dessert.” He pointed at himself, and then unmistakably glanced at the glass case featuring an assortment of pies and cakes. “Pie is possibly the single greatest invention in the universe, and there’s just something about diner pie.”   
  
“Oh, believe me, I get it,” Corey said, his shoulders relaxing, just a little, as they spoke. “The peach pie here? Warm, with a little ice cream? There’s nothing like it.”   
  
“Huh.” Mason looked thoughtful. “That is good to know. I guess I know what I’m having for dessert,” he said with a wink.    
  
Corey was pretty sure that he felt that wink in his entire body. Mason was so nice, but he knew that he couldn’t think too much of it. Mason Hewitt was just one of those guys who was nice to everyone. Still, it was cool that he was the kind of guy who looked out for waiters and servers. So many people took Corey for granted. It was so easy to be rude to someone who was bringing you your food, to forget that they were human, but Mason? He seemed to know a lot better, and it wasn’t like he was the only kind and thoughtful customer that Corey had ever had, but it hit differently, especially when you placed him against the background of his friends.    
  
As Mason headed back to the table Corey couldn’t help but wish that Mason weren’t so popular. If he were just a little bit more uncool, maybe Corey would have a shot at being his friend but Mason already had so many friends. He probably didn’t have room for a weirdo like Corey in his life.    
  
He was just being nice to the guy with access to the pie cabinet.    
  
Corey refilled the drinks, then pulled his notepad out yet again, letting himself enjoy the warm feeling that he felt in his chest when Mason organized them all into giving their orders in a palatable fashion. He also smiled as Mason announced that he would be paying the check, and that everyone could Venmo him for their specific orders.    
  
If only the other large groups had someone like Mason to facilitate, Corey knew that his life would be a lot easier. Selfishly, he was also pretty sure that Mason wasn’t the kind of guy who was going to skimp on a tip for a large group, and that was nice, too. Corey’s car was making an odd squeaking sound, and getting stiffed on a tip for a huge and time consuming table like this could be the difference between being able to go to the mechanic this week or not.    
  
Corey left the check on the table, and was just about to return for it, when Mason walked up to the counter. “Here,” he handed it over.    
  
“Oh, thank you.” Corey accepted it, but didn’t check it. He trusted that Mason had signed it properly, and kept the itemized list that he had asked for so that he could get his friends to pay up.    
  
“No, thank you. I know that we were kind of...a lot,” Mason said.   
  
“No, no, you were fine. I mean, we get drunk college kids in here all the time, so a few high schoolers?” He shrugged. “I mean, you know, it’s a diner, not a fancy elegant restaurant. Sometimes it’s loud.”   
  
“So you admit it? We were loud?”   
  
“Oh, no, I mean,” Corey scrambled to find the right words. “You were-”   
  
“Hey, I’m teasing,” Mason said. “We were...incredibly loud. We got some glares from the other tables. More than once. It happens.”   
  
“Oh.” Corey felt some of the pressure release from his chest, and he wondered what it was like to not be so high strung all the time. He wondered what it would be like to be able to assume that that was a joke, and not to instantly take everything as a criticism.    
  
He wondered if that would be the case for him if he had different parents, or if he had more friends. Maybe, if he weren’t so alone in the world, he wouldn’t be so uptight.    
  
“Oh, and thank you for the peach pie tip. That was fucking delicious.” Mason drummed his hands on the counter, then began to turn around to leave.   
  


Once Mason was safely back with his friends, Corey opened the check, and saw not only a generous tip, but a little note.   
  
**Thanks for the great service. See you in Spanish! -M.** **  
** **  
** Corey’s jaw nearly dropped through the floor. They  _ were _ in the same Spanish class, but he hadn’t realized until this exact moment that Mason actually  _ knew _ that they were in the same Spanish class. Corey input all of the information, and then tore off the bottom of the receipt with the note, tucking it into his back pocket.    
  
A part of him knew that he was ridiculous for such things, but at the same time, well, it was the nicest thing that he had gotten in a long time, and Dr. Morrell had told him to try and hang on to the positives in his life.    
  
He watched Mason and his friends leave, and he should have been relieved. Usually, when a big party like that left, all that he felt was glad that he didn’t have to deal with it anymore. This time, however, he found himself wishing they had all stayed for another round of coffee. Maybe, that way, he would have gotten a little more out of Mason.    
  
Still, that night when he went home and dug the note out of the back of his jeans, he felt the same warmth fill his chest that he had felt with Mason’s kindness. He smoothed the torn paper out, and tucked it into the drawer on his bedside table to keep as a reminder that, sometimes, things weren’t all bad.    
  
Sometimes, he could find the good in something small. For the first time in a long time, even as exhausted as he was, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	7. Chapter Seven - Liam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo approaches Liam, and reveals a secret that changes everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay with all of the fanfiction events lately, this story wound up on hold, but I am back to it now! Thank you all for your patience!

Sometimes, when emotions got too loud inside of the high school, which was pretty much every day, Liam would take his lunch, and go eat on the bleachers. At first, it had been difficult to explain to the Lacrosse team why he didn’t want to eat with them, but it hadn’t taken them long to adjust to the fact that he was just one of those guys that needed his space. He was friendly, and on the field and in practice, he was every bit a part of the team, but outside of that, he didn’t really fit in.    
  
Most days, Mason ate with him, but he had student government once a week, and occasionally other clubs or work to do in the library, so on days like today, Liam was all alone.    
  
“Heads up.”    
  
Liam looked up just in time to narrowly miss a Snickers bar being launched at his head. He managed to catch it before it fell between the benches of the bleachers. Liam furrowed his brow as he re-focused himself and realized that Theo Raeken had been the one to throw it.    
  
“What was that for?” Liam asked with a frown.    
  
“Peace offering or whatever,” Theo said, jumping up onto the bench and sitting next to him. “It had come to my attention that you were possibly just trying to be a good dude, and that I was kind of an unnecessary douche bag in response. So. Snickers. We good?”   
  
“Uh…” Liam looked at the candy bar, and then up at Theo.    
  
This was about the last thing that he was expecting, and trying to process his own thoughts through the sadness that he was feeling was difficult, especially since Theo seemed so  _ cool  _ and unbothered on the outside. He was so good at hiding his true emotions, and Liam was pretty sure that he had never come into contact with anyone that was so good at faking their emotions.    
  
“It’s not rocket science, dude,” Theo said, opening a bag of potato chips that he had likely acquired from the same hallway vending machine that the Snickers bar had come from. “We’re cool or we’re not, so which is it?”   
  
“Yeah, no, we’re cool,” Liam said quickly, setting the Snickers bar aside to eat after he finished his lunch. His appetite, though, was waning. It was tricky with Theo’s emotions. He was beginning to feel reeled in by Theo’s crushing sadness, and he was trying to fight it, but it wasn’t that easy.    
  
Nothing with his ability, it seemed, ever was.    
  
He expected Theo to leave once he had said they were all good, but instead, Theo leaned back and continued to eat his chips.    
  
“So,” Theo said. “You’re cool, you’re a Lacrosse stud, a lady’s man, apparently, and yet you’re eating on the bleachers by yourself? What’s that all about?”   
  
“The cafeteria gets loud,” Liam said with a shrug. “It bothers me.”   
  
“I can see that.” Theo nodded, crunching down on another chip. “Speaking of, what you said? About me being sad. What was that all about? Where did you get that from?”   
  
“Oh.” Liam gulped, shifting uncomfortably.   
  
He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He hadn’t meant to call out Theo’s sadness, but it had been filling him up, and it had been rising, and he hadn’t really known what else to do.   
  
“I just made an assumption,” Liam said finally. “I assumed that you were sad because of the bullying, and…” he trailed off, taking a bite of his sandwich to try and fill up space so that he wouldn’t have to say more.   
  
This was so difficult to navigate, because he knew. He  _ knew _ about the crushing sadness inside of Theo, and he knew that the other man was hiding so much of himself, and god, that was hard. Liam knew that it was hard, because he hid a giant part of himself every day by keeping his ability to himself.    
  
“Nobody else pegged me as sad,” Theo argued. “Just you. There were tons of people there, and you were the only one that picked up on that. No one has ever called me out on that before, no one’s ever said anything and the fact that you, someone I’ve never even really talked to got to that conclusion?” He paused to crunch another chip. “I don’t think it was a coincidence.”   
  
“Lucky guess?” Liam asked, feeling even more uncomfortable. What was Theo getting at?   
  
“Was it?” Theo asked, tilting his head to the side. “Because it seems like kind of a crazy lucky guess, since I’m pretty sure that is not the way I present or hold myself.”   
  
“What else would it be?” Liam said, laughing awkwardly.    
  
“I think you’re like me.”   
  
“What?” Liam turned quickly to look at him, his eyes wide.    
  
That couldn’t possibly mean what Liam thought that it meant, right? Theo wasn’t Atypical, was he? Liam would know that, he would have been able to feel it, wouldn’t he? Except maybe not. Abilities weren’t emotions, and he wasn’t able to read thoughts or anything like that. Just emotions.    
  
“Oh come on,” Theo rolled his eyes. “I think we both know what I mean. Want a chip?”   
  
“Uh…” Liam wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He already didn’t feel hungry, but he didn’t want Theo to think that there was anything strange about him, at least not more strange than the average high school stuff. “Sure?”   
  
“Cool.”    
  
Theo passed the bag over, and Liam reached in for a chip, but as he did so, he realized that Theo’s hand was no longer holding the bag. Instead, the snack was hovering in mid-air, right under Liam’s nose.    
  
“What the hell?” he said, scrambling backwards. “How are you doing that?” He looked at Theo, his heart pounding.    
  
“Oh come on, you  _ know  _ how I’m doing it,” he said. “Same way you knew that I was sad the other day. Okay, maybe not exactly the same way, but you know, similar.” Theo smirked, and one of the chips came floating out of the bag, and over towards him. He opened his mouth, and ate the chip right out of the air.    
  
“Stop that, someone will see!” Liam barely managed to get the words out due to the shock that was coursing through him.   
  
“There’s no one else out here.” Theo gestured around the very empty bleachers and even more stark lacrosse field. “It’s just us. Us and our super powers.”   
  
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Liam stammered.    
  
“Yeah, you do.” Theo reached out, taking the chips back out of the air and relaxing against the bleachers. “Come on, what, you can feel emotions, right? That’s how you knew I was sad?”   
  
“I…”   
  
“Hey, I showed you mine,” Theo said. “There’s no reason for you to hide from me. It’s not like I’m gonna turn you over to the government or whatever. I’m in the same boat as you.”   
  
Liam gulped. He hadn’t been expecting this, and he looked around, as though there might be some sort of flashing Neon sign telling him what to do, but there was nothing.    
  
“So you’re...an Atypical?”   
  
“If that’s your way of saying ‘guy with super powers,’ then yeah.” Theo shrugged. “I guess I am. And you are, too?”   
  
Liam just nodded.    
  
“Look, I’m not gonna tell anyone about your secret, if you don’t tell anyone about mine, okay?”   
  
“Oh, god, I wouldn’t do that. Rat you out? No, I won’t.” Liam shook his head, though he already knew in the back of his mind that he was going to have to tell his therapist...and probably Mason, as well, but that wouldn’t put Theo in any danger.    
  
“Cool.” Theo smirked. “So, you want a chip?”   
  
“Sure.” Liam nodded.    
  
A chip zoomed towards him, and he caught it out of the air, a smile on his face. As he ate it, he realized that, through the overwhelming sadness in Theo, a spark of happiness was pushing through. Theo was happy about something. Being able to share his ability with someone, perhaps? Having someone who understood what it was like to be a teenager with superpowers?   
  
Liam could understand that, because there was a little bit of relief in him, too. He had always known that he wasn’t the only Atypical out there, but he had never met anyone like him before, and it felt good.    
  
Really good, and those good feelings weren’t just coming from him. Some of them were from Theo, too.   
  
***   
  
“He’s Atypical!”   
  
Liam barely gave Dr. Morrell the chance to greet him on Wednesday before he broke the news. After all, how was he supposed to keep something like that to himself when he could only tell one person? He was pretty sure that he couldn’t.    
  
“What?” Dr. Morrell took her seat. “Who’s Atypical?”   
  
“Theo.”   
  
“The boy with the sadness?” She looked surprised as Liam flopped onto the couch.    
  
“Yup.” Liam nodded. “I talked to him the other day, well, sort of, it was kind of all a giant mess…” he relayed to her what had happened with Billy and the other bullies, and how he had called out Theo’s sadness. “And then he came up to me on Monday, I was eating by myself on the bleachers because Mason had something, and he - Theo - came out and threw a candy bar at me, and we were talking, and he wanted to know how I knew he was sad, and I said like, you know, I  _ didn’t _ , and it was a lucky guess, but he didn’t believe me, and then he said he thought I was like him, and then...he made his chips float.”   
  
“He made his chips float?”   
  
“Yeah. Like he was holding the bag, and then all of a sudden he wasn’t. It was just floating there in mid-air, and he could make the individual chips fly around.”   
  
“Sounds like text book telekinesis,” Dr. Morrell said.    
  
“Yeah.” Liam nodded. “And he, like, had really good control. It was nuts. I don’t even...I was shocked, you know? I’ve never met anyone that was like me before! I mean, anyone Atypical.”   
  
“How did that feel?” She asked.    
  
“Good. It was exciting, you know? And he was feeling the same way - it was the first time I’d felt anything other than total sadness from him. I could feel that he was happy. The sadness was still there, but there was a little bit of happiness and excitement poking through, and it was weird, because he was feeling it, and so was I, but I could tell. I could tell what was his and what was mine, you know? It was like his happiness sort of...nestled in right next to mine in my chest, instead of taking it over.”   
  
“Really?” Dr. Morrell raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never mentioned anything like that happening before.”   
  
“I don’t think it’s really happened before,” he said. “Maybe it’s because we’re both Atypical, or because we were just both so happy and excited to find someone like us that the emotions were too big to blend, I don’t know, but it was...it was incredible. Having tangible proof that I’m not the only one.”   
  
“I must say, while I suspected that talking to this boy would have a positive impact on you, I did not see this coming.” She was smiling, though, and Liam was glad that she wasn’t telling him off for Theo using his abilities in public.    
  
Not that that was really his fault anyways.    
  
“Me neither,” Liam admitted.    
  
“So, what’s next?” Dr. Morrell asked.    
  
“I don’t know, I guess. I mean, I’m gonna ask if he’ll have lunch with me on the days Mason has stuff, and I guess we’ll talk about it, see what...what comes of it?”   
  
“Become friends?”   
  
“Hopefully, yeah. I mean, how often is something like this gonna come along for me? How often am I gonna wind up head to head with another Atypical? And he seems really in control, maybe I can learn from him, too.”   
  
“I suspect that there is probably a great deal that you can learn from each other,” she stated. “I’m curious to hear about how this friendship progresses.”   
  
“Me too,” Liam said. “It’s just...kind of mind blowing, you know?”   
  
“I can’t even imagine.”  
  
“I’m still getting my head around it, but I’m, you know, I want to spend more time with him. I want to learn more.”   
  
“I can’t imagine why,” she teased.    
  
“Hey!” Liam smiled.    
  
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this,” she observed.    
  
“What, happy?”   
  
“Happy, excited...hopeful.”    
  
“Oh.” He nodded. “Well, I mean, yeah. I guess it’s just new, and it’s exciting, and I think it will be good to have another Atypical to be friends with. It’ll be like Mason, you know? Someone that I can be around that I won’t have to lie to.”   
  
“That must be such a relief.”   
  
“Yeah.” Liam relaxed on the couch, looking up at the ceiling. “Kinda makes me wonder, you know? I had  _ no  _ idea that he had an ability, so who else around me might have one?”   
  
“I wonder about that constantly. In my line of work, it definitely brings up questions and curiosities. It makes sense that you would be thinking about that, but at the same time, I think that you should focus on cultivating this friendship with Theo and seeing where that gets you.”   
  
“Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I can do that.”   
  
“Good.” Dr. Morrell took a deep breath, and a pause before saying more. “Was there anything else of note this week? I know you had your school dance, and school activities like that can be a bit much for you.”   
  
“Yeah…” Liam sighed. “It was fun, I guess. I mostly hung with the other guys from the team, and Hayden, and Mason. Hayden was having fun, and she was happy, so I did my best to focus on her emotions, and then we all went to a diner after, so I guess that was all fine. It was really exhausting though. When I got home, I was so tired, and it wasn’t even  _ that _ late.”   
  
“And what about the feelings situation, with Hayden’s crush on you?”   
  
“Yeah, that...I mean, she texted the next day to say that she had a nice time at the dance, and I replied that I did, too, but that I felt like we would be better as friends, and she said that was okay.”   
  
“Wait, wait,” Dr. Morrell frowned. “You did this over text message?”   
  
“Well, yeah.”   
  
“That doesn’t strike you as an ‘in person’ type of conversation?”    
  
“No, it doesn’t,” Liam said. “Because when I try to have conversations like that in person, I feel all of the emotions, and I get all confused, and it’s too difficult!”    
  
“I still think that you should follow up with Hayden,” Dr. Morrell explained. “And let her know that you didn’t mean to be rude. Being ‘dumped’ by text message isn’t fun for anyone.”   
  
“We weren’t even going out!” Liam argued.    
  
“But it could easily have the same effect, Liam. I just don’t want you garnering a reputation like that.”   
  
“Well how do I explain it to her without coming across like a douche, or telling her about my ability?” He argued.    
  
“Maybe just find her tomorrow, and tell her that you didn’t want to lead her on, so you wanted to tell her right away, hence the text message, but that you don’t want her to feel cast aside or unimportant. If you really want to be friends, see if she wants to hang out sometime, but be clear that it’s just as friends.”   
  
“Fine.” Liam sighed. “I have to say, you are killing my buzz a little.”   
  
“I’m sorry about that, but you’re here to deal with the tricky stuff, and this is a part of that.”   
  
“I know, I know. I guess I would rather focus on the one good thing that has happened to me lately, than the bad things that I have to do.”   
  
“That is more than understandable, but talking to Hayden might not be bad, it might go over better than you expect.”   
  
“Here’s to hoping.” Liam sighed. “Because I am really, really sick of feeling everyone’s uncomfortable emotions when I’m talking to them. You have no idea what it’s like.”   
  
“You’re right, I don’t. But even not being Atypical, and being an adult, I know that conversations like that are uncomfortable. Just because I can’t feel the emotions doesn’t mean I can’t tell when someone is upset, so I do sympathize, Liam. There are parts of your life that are always going to be more difficult because of your ability. I wish that I could tell you that wasn’t the case, but it is.”   
  
“I know.” Liam groaned. “I just feel optimistic for once, and it sucks that there’s this cloud hanging over it.”   
  
“Well, why don’t we work on some of your mindfulness exercises to help you get through it?”   
  
“Yeah.” Liam nodded. “Yeah, that’d be good. Okay. Yeah.”   
  
He leaned back against the couch, and listened to Dr. Morrell’s voice, letting himself focus on it, and the exercises. In spite of it, though, in the back of his mind, thoughts of Theo, and how excited he was to talk to him again, were still present.


	8. Chapter Eight - Corey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corey has a run in with Mason in Dr. Morrell's waiting room, and struggles with both his ability, and his budding feelings for the other teen.

Corey was usually just on the cusp of being late to therapy, but this Wednesday, unlike pretty much every other day of his life, things were actually seeming to fall into place. He had gotten out of his after school job at the coffee shop a little early, and he didn’t have the diner tonight. His car actually started on the first try, and didn’t stall out at all while he was driving. As a result, by the time he parked and got out of his car, he still had about 10 minutes before his session.    
  
Without anywhere else to go, he grabbed his copy of  _ A Tale of Two Cities _ to try and get through some of it while he had the downtime, and headed up to Dr. Morrell’s office.    
  
In truth, he was riding something of a high. He had had Spanish twice since running into Mason at the diner, and both times, the other boy had smiled at him, and said “hi” before class had started.    
  
For Mason, and probably for just about everyone else, it was a small thing, but for Corey, it was sort of huge. They weren’t hanging out, they weren’t talking, they weren’t even really friends, but even just having someone that smiled at him and greeted him? It felt really good.    
  
“Hey, Corey!” Jordan smiled brightly as Corey entered the office.   
  
“Hi.” Corey returned the smile, but at the same time, Jordan didn’t really count.    
  
Greeting Corey with a friend “hello” was his job.   
  
“Can I get you anything while you wait? You’re early.”   
  
“I know, my car actually started on the first try, who knew that could happen?” Corey sat down into one of the chairs. “But thanks, I’m good, I’ll just catch up on some schoolwork, if that’s alright?” He gestured to the book in his hand.   
  
“Fine by me.” Jordan turned back to his computer, giving Corey space to lean into his English assignment.    
  
He only got a couple of pages in, however, before the door opened again, and someone else came in.   
  
“Corey?”   
  
Corey looked up, and was shocked to see Mason Hewitt walk into the room.    
  
“Mason.” He gulped, his eyes wide. “What are you doing here?”   
  
He didn’t really want the guy that he was maybe sort of starting to like to know just what a disaster he was; that he needed therapy. Then again, Mason was here, too, so maybe…   
  
“Oh, I’m uh, picking up a friend.” He gestured towards the door to the office. “I’m a few minutes early.”   
  
“Oh.” Corey gulped. “Yeah, me too.”   
  
“You’re picking up a friend?”   
  
“No, um, I’m early.” He looked down at the ground. “For my session.”   
  
“Oh.” Mason nodded. “Cool, cool. That makes sense.”   
  
“It does?” Corey asked, his eyes going wide.    
  
“Oh, no, not because - just because, I mean, there’s only one doctor, and since I’m picking up my friend who’s meeting with her now…”   
  
“Oh, yeah, totally.” Corey let out a sigh of relief, though he was pretty sure that, by this point, his cheeks were bright red. He could feel the heat all the way in his ears, just as he could feel his heart rate picking up.    
  
_ Oh no. _ _   
_ _   
_ “Hey, are you okay?” Mason asked. “You’re looking a little pale.”   
  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Corey lied, trying to take deep breaths and regulate himself. Mason made him nervous, and he was scared that he was going to disappear.    
  
If Mason saw his ability in action, he would certainly know, beyond all doubt, that Corey was a freakshow.    
  
“Are you sure?” Mason moved closer, sitting down in the chair next to him. “You look like you’re...are you having a panic attack?”   
  
“Um,” Corey paused, attempting to hold his breath for a moment, but it didn’t work, and he wound up letting out a gasp as he stopped trying. “Some-something like that.”   
  
“What can I do?”   
  
“I don’t - I don’t know!” Corey squeezed his eyes shut, trying his hardest to focus on staying visible.    
  
He didn’t want Mason to think that he was anymore of a freak than he already was, and sure, having a panic attack in front of him was bad, but disappearing completely? That would be one hell of a lot worse. He knew that Dr. Morrell treated Atypical patients, but she might treat “normal” people, too, he wasn’t sure, and even if whoever Mason was picking up was Atypical, Mason might not know that, and Corey didn’t want to reveal such sensitive information about someone else, even by mistake.   
  
Unfortunately, all of those feelings and fears only worked Corey up more, and he could feel it coming. He was going to disappear. He looked to Jordan, almost pleadingly, but the young man was up from his desk and headed into the back, so Corey had no choice. He wanted to get up and run, but if he did that, he had no guarantee that Mason wouldn’t follow him, or that he wouldn’t disappear in front of other people in the hallway, and that was an even greater risk.   
  
“Hey, Corey,” Mason said. “Look at me, focus on me, okay? And breathe in. Four counts, okay? One, two, three, four - now hold it, four more. One, two, three, four. Good, perfect, now let it out for eight. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. You’re doing great.”   
  
Mason smiled as Corey did his best to focus his breathing, listening to Mason’s counting, and obeying, following the other man’s directions, and to his great surprise, found that it was helping. He felt more solid, more present as Mason ran him through a second, third, and then fourth cycle of breathing.   
  
“Better?” Mason asked as Corey’s breathing began to regulate on it’s own.   
  
Corey nodded.    
  
“See? You did it.”    
  
Mason’s smile widened, and Corey couldn’t help but return it, though his own was a great deal smaller.    
  
“Thank you,” he said, managing the small words.    
  
“You’re welcome.”   
  
“Where’d you learn to do that?”   
  
“Just...a friend of mine used to get worked up really bad sometimes, so I used to do that for them, and I thought it might work there, too.”   
  
“It did.”   
  
Corey felt his breathing regulate, but his heart rate was all over the place. Not only was Mason gorgeous, kind, and smart, but he was also compassionate, understanding, and helpful, and Corey couldn’t help but think about how lucky whoever managed to land this guy would be.    
  
It would never be him, though, because stable, chill guys like Mason didn’t wind up with hot messes like Corey - especially not hot messes that disappeared physically when things got stressful. No, Mason would wind up with some gorgeous stud who had no emotional problems. Probably someone who’s parents loved them more than life itself, someone who didn’t have to work a million jobs, someone who’s car started on the first try  _ every _ time, someone who could focus on school, and sports, and doting on Mason.   
  
Corey was never going to be that guy, but at least right now, in this moment, he had Mason sitting right next to him, smiling at him, and helping him to feel better.    
  
And god, did he feel better.   
  
“Are you alright?” Mason asked.    
  
“Um, yeah. That just...happens sometimes. When I get nervous, or-” he cut himself off. “Not that I was nervous, I just...I don’t know. Running into someone from school at therapy isn’t the most calming of situations.”   
  
Okay, Corey felt like that was actually a pretty decent save. Mason didn’t have to know that it was specifically  _ him  _ running into Corey at therapy that made him nervous, and he was pretty sure that it made sense, too. Was it his best lie ever? Maybe not, but it was far from his worst.   
  
“No, I totally get that, but hey, I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to, and I won’t judge you at all. Therapy isn’t anything to be ashamed of.”   
  
Anyone else, Corey might not have believed, but Mason’s tone of voice was warm, and his smile was so incredibly comforting that Corey would have believed anything that came out of his mouth. Hell, Mason could tell him that pigs had started flying, and Corey would have just nodded and accepted it as truth.   
  
“Thank you.”   
  
“Hey, it’s no problem. You’re a cool dude, Corey. I’m sorry that I gave you a panic attack.”   
  
“No, it wasn’t you!” Corey said quickly. “It was just...you know…” he gestured uselessly for a moment before letting his hands collapse into his lap.    
  
“I know what you mean,” Mason said with a smile. “And hey, it’s all good.”   
  
“Here.” Jordan walked back into the room, handing Corey a glass of cool water.   
  
“Oh, thank you.” Corey took the glass, taking a sip.   
  
“Anytime, just don’t hesitate to ask.”   
  
Corey nodded, picking his book up again, though he knew that he wasn’t going to be able to focus on reading it.    
  
“Ohh, what part are you at?” Mason asked, watching him lift the book.   
  
“Just, um...the beginning.” He shrugged. “It’s been hard to find a chance to read.”   
  
“Oh, cool, makes sense. Look, if you ever want a study buddy or anything…”   
  
“That’s okay,” Corey said quickly.    
  
He liked Mason, and yeah, he wanted to spend more time with him, but at the same time, he didn’t want Mason to know how stupid he was, how behind he was on everything. It was just too much right now, and he didn’t want to put himself in that position.   
  
“Well, I will hush up so that you can get some reading done now.”    
  
Mason leaned back in his chair, pulling out his phone, and Corey wanted to reach out and grab their conversation, to bring it back, because he didn’t want Mason to stop talking to him, but at the same time,  _ he _ was the one that had pulled out a book. If he wanted Mason to keep talking to him, it was on him to say something, and his mind was completely void of anything useful to stay, so instead, he sat back, pretending to read in an attempt to avoid making even more of a fool in front of the other boy.   
  
He didn’t look up until the door to Dr. Morrell’s office opened...and out walked Liam Dunbar.    
  
That was about the last person that Corey expected to see, and he dropped his book along with his jaw.    
  
“Corey?” Liam asked, his eyes wide with a similar surprise to what Corey was feeling.    
  
“Um, yeah.”   
  
“Okay.” Liam nodded. “Mason? Can we…” he jerked his head towards the door.    
  
“Yeah, of course.” Mason got to his feet, bending down to pick Corey’s book up as he did so. “I’ll see you at school, okay?”    
  
“Yeah.” Corey got up as well, taking the book before darting into Dr. Morrell’s office, treating it as though it was a safe haven.    
  
“Corey?” Dr. Morrell looked at him, confused. “Are you alright?”   
  
“Define alright?” Corey asked. “The guy that I li- a guy that I know...was here. In your office. Picking up one of the most popular guys in school, who now knows what a freak I am. If that wasn’t bad enough, I had a panic attack and almost disappeared right in front of him. He had to count my breathing to get me to calm down.”   
  
“But you didn’t disappear, did you?” she asked, settling into her chair.    
  
“Well, no…”   
  
“So that’s good, isn’t it?”   
  
“I mean, I guess, but also he just thinks I’m a total basket case.”   
  
“Did he say that?”   
  
“Of course not, he’s too nice for that!”   
  
“I see.” She smiled.    
  
“Why are you smiling?”    
  
“Well,” she shrugged. “You were talking about a guy you knew, who’s impression of you seemed to matter, and it sounded like maybe you were about to say that you liked him.”   
  
“Oh, no, no, I don’t...I just…” he bit his lip. “I mean he’s cute and nice. No one wants to embarrass themselves in front of a cute, nice guy.”   
  
“That’s true. Regardless, it’s still good, that you’re making a connection with someone.”   
  
“We’re not making a connection, it’s just...he’s nice.”   
  
“So you’ve said. You’ve also said in the past that you wanted to make friends, and we decided that would be our goal, and it sounds like you’re doing that?”   
  
“I mean,” Corey looked down at his shoes. “I don’t know if we’re making friends, but he came into the diner with his friends after the dance, and they were all being loud, and a lot, and instead of just...also being loud and shouting his order, he organized them all so that they ordered one by one, and he called my by my name, and at the end, he paid the entire check so that I wouldn’t have to divide it up, and said he’d see me in Spanish, which meant that he  _ knew _ that I was in his Spanish class, and for that moment, I didn’t feel totally invisible.”   
  
“I think that’s wonderful, Corey,” she said softly. “And he was counting your breathing just now?”   
  
“Yeah, I mean…” he shrugged. “Yes.”   
  
“It sounds like he would be a fantastic person to have as a friend.”   
  
“He won’t want to be friends with me,” Corey said.    
  
“And why not? You’re a bright, smart, kind, caring young man.”   
  
“I mean, maybe one or two of those on a good day, but on his worst day, he’s all of those things and then some.” He paused. “And popular to boot. He has plenty of friends. He doesn’t need one like me.”   
  
“Do me a favor?” She asked.    
  
“Maybe...what?”   
  
“Feel it out. Keep saying ‘hi’ to him, and see where it goes. I have a good feeling about him for you, Corey.”   
  
Corey bit his lip, wondering what that meant. She knew Liam. She was Liam’s therapist, and Liam was best friends with Mason, so he probably talked about Mason, so maybe she knew some things about Mason...or maybe Liam was Atypical, too. Maybe Mason knew, and maybe that was why she thought he would be a good friend.   
  
“I’ll...try.”   
  
Truth be told, Corey wanted to keep trying to talk to Mason, and having a reason to, having someone pushing him in that direction might have been what he needed, because he never could have on his own. He didn’t know quite how to handle that, or what to do, but at the same time, he desperately wanted to spend more time with Mason.    
  
“That’s the best that anyone can do,” she said with a smile.    
  
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I just hope that I can come back from the embarrassment that I caused myself just now.”   
  
“If he’s the right friend for you, then he won’t care that you had a panic attack, and frankly, it sounds like he didn’t. He talked you down. Not everyone can do that sort of thing, especially the majority of the teenagers that I know,” Dr. Morrell stated.   
  
“Yeah, he’s special,” Corey said without even meaning to.    
  
“You know,” she said. “It’s okay to have a crush on a nice, cute guy.”   
  
“I know, but I don’t-” Corey stopped himself. There was no point in lying to his therapist. “Maybe just a small one. I don’t know. He’s cute, and nice, as we’ve established, and I just think it’s been awhile since someone was both of those things to me. It’s probably not even a real crush, it’s probably just something stupid my brain is doing because it doesn’t know how else to process cute and nice. It’ll blow over.”   
  
“Just don’t force it to, alright? I’m not promising he’ll like you back or anything like that, but it’s okay to feel your feelings. If you don’t like him, that’s fine, but if you do like him, that’s also fine.”   
  
“I just don’t want to deal with the pain of potentially liking someone and them not liking me back. It will hurt, and it doesn’t have to, and I don’t want it to.”   
  
“I won’t lie and say that it won’t hurt, but also that’s a part of life, Corey,” she said with a shrug. “We like people, and when they don’t like us back, it hurts. If you just shove everything that hurts into a corner and lock it away, if you don’t do things because there’s a chance they might hurt, you’ll get to a point where you never do or feel anything, and then what?”   
_   
_ _ And then what? _ _   
_ _   
_ Corey didn’t know the answer to that question, but he bit his lip, shifting, shrugging. She wasn’t wrong, he was sure of that, because she was never wrong, but at the same time, that didn’t mean that it was something that he wanted to hear.   
  
“I don’t know.”   
  
“It’s okay to feel, Corey. It’s okay to laugh when you’re happy, and scream when you’re hurt. Not all feelings are good, but not all feelings are bad, either, and if something makes you feel happy, just think about it. Is it worth pushing away or shutting it down just because in the future, it might make you sad?” She paused. “That’s not something you have to answer right now, just something to think about.”   
  
Corey nodded, his brow furrowed, because yeah.   
  
That was something to think about.


	9. Chapter Nine - Liam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam disocvers a secret about Mason while confiding in him about his budding friendship with Theo. After being encouraged by both Mason and Dr. Morrell, Liam attempts to spend more time with his new Atypical friend.

“Are you alright?” Mason asked as they drove away from Dr. Morrell’s office.   
  
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Liam replied.   
  
“We’ve been over this - just because I’m not an empath doesn’t mean I can’t tell when you’re off. What’s wrong?”   
  
“Nothing,” Liam said. “Please just drop it.”   
  
“You seemed happy when you walked out of the office, so I don’t understand what changed? I feel like there are things going on that you’re not telling me, and I sort of thought we got past that point once you told me about your superpower.”   
  
“Ability.”   
  
“Superpower.”   
  
“Fuck, fine. That Corey kid…” Liam sighed. “His feelings did not feel good. At all.”   
  
“Oh.” Mason bit his lip. “Yeah, he sort of had a panic attack while we were waiting for you.”   
  
“I know. Trust me. But it wasn’t just that, he was panicky, but also like...hot and nervous, and it was weird.”   
  
“Shouldn’t that be gone?” he asked. “I mean, since you’re not in the room with him anymore?”   
  
“It’s starting too, but-” Liam stopped himself.    
  
“But what?”   
  
“Nothing. I’m just worried that he’ll tell people at school that I’m in therapy, and they’ll think I’m a freak.”   
  
“He’s in therapy, too,” Mason pointed. “Besides, he’s not like that.”   
  
“How do you know?”    
  
“He’s in my Spanish class, he’s a nice guy.”   
  
“I didn’t know you two were friends.”   
  
“We’re not, we’ve just talked once or-”   
  
“Oh my god!”   
  
Liam spoke so loudly that Mason briefly lost control of the car, and wound up pulling over.   
  
“Okay, what the hell was that?” Mason asked.    
  
“It’s  _ you _ !”   
  
“What’s me?”   
  
“The reason that the hot and nervous feelings aren’t going away completely is because they weren’t just coming from him, they were coming from you, too!”   
  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”   
  
“Now who’s trying to hide things?”   
  
“You know, most of the time I really like that you’re Atypical, but right now, I kinda hate it,” Mason said. “I don’t like it when my feelings make you feel-”   
  
“I’m sorry. I’ll get better control, but right now, I can feel your guilt bleeding in with your weird crush nerves and it’s kind of a lot.”   
  
“Right.” Mason took a deep breath, starting the car up again to try and regulate his feelings...or at least get Liam home quickly, so that he didn’t have to be stuck with them for too much longer.   
  
“Mason, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”   
  
“No, it’s okay, you didn’t,” Mason said. “I’m okay. If we talk about something else, it’ll go away.”   
  
“Do you think he’s Atypical?” Liam asked.    
  
“What do you mean? Who?”   
  
“Corey.”   
  
“I don’t know,” Mason admitted. “Do you know if Dr. Morrell treats non-Atypicals, or just Atypical patients?”   
  
“I don’t know. She doesn’t talk about her other patients like, at all. She can’t, and I think even if saying that she only treated Atypicals would be a pretty big breach of trust, so I have no idea. But you think he could be, right?”   
  
“God, I have no idea. Do you?”   
  
“I think there are more of us than you’d think, and it can be anyone, like there’s really no saying, I mean Theo-”   
  
“Wait, Theo Raeken?”   
  
“Um, yeah.” Liam nodded.    
  
“Theo Raeken is Atypical?”   
  
“Yes, but you can’t tell anyone!” Liam said quickly. “At all, okay? I promised I wouldn’t tell, but you’re basically just an extension of me, and then I had to tell Dr. Morrell, but no one else, okay?”   
  
“Yeah, of course, you know I can keep a secret! But how did you even find this out?”   
  
“He figured out that I was, and when you were at Student Government the other day, he showed me his ability.”   
  
“His  _ superpower _ ,” Mason said, smiling, though he kept his eyes on the road.   
  
“Whatever.” Liam rolled his eyes.   
  
“Well, what is it?”   
  
“Telekinesis. And he has like, really good control, too.”   
  
“Intense.”   
  
“Well, your bad feelings have officially been replaced with excitement,” Liam said, a smile creeping onto his own face - after all, it was hard to be upset with Mason’s joyful excitement bubbling up inside of him. “Has anyone ever told you that you are an incredible nerd?”   
  
“Yes. You, frequently, but I can’t help it! That’s just so cool! I mean, and that’s good, right? You having another Atypical friend?”   
  
“I wouldn’t say that we’re friends…”   
  
“He showed you his superpower,” Mason said. “He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t want to talk to you about it more, and that means he probably wants to be friends with you.”   
  
“I guess we’ll see.”    
  
“What do you want?”   
  
“I don’t know.” Liam shrugged. “I guess to hang around him more, see what happens, you know? Obviously you’re my best friend, and that’s never going to change, but it would be sort of nice to open the fold a little, have someone else who’s Atypical to talk to, and maybe he can teach me some stuff. Like I said, his control was  _ so _ good, and mine is still so pathetic. If he can help me figure out how to do that, things would be so much easier. Dr. Morrell is great and all, but she’s not Atypical, so there’s only so much that she can really get.”   
  
“Yeah, that makes sense.” Mason nodded. “I think you should pursue him.”   
  
“What? No!”   
  
“I meant the friendship!” Mason laughed, shaking his head. “Although, he’s-”   
  
“I know, I know.” Liam rolled his eyes again. “You think he’s ‘throw you against the wall and you’d say thank you’ hot.”   
  
“Yeah, but not my type.”   
  
“No, apparently you like the quiet kids who sit in the back of class,” Liam chided.    
  
“Shut up, we’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you.” He paused. “What about the sadness, though? Theo’s?”   
  
“I mean, it wasn’t good, but when he was showing me his power and afterwards, it wasn’t all sadness. It felt, I don’t know. The sadness was still there, but with a little layer of happiness on top of it, and it felt nice.”   
  
“Yeah.” Mason nodded. “You definitely need to hang out with him more.”   
  
With Mason’s encouragement, as well as Dr. Morrell’s, Liam decided to do just that.    
  
***   
  
Liam couldn’t help but feel nervous as he waited for history class to finish up. Yes, Theo’s sadness was still there, but that little bubble of happiness hadn’t gone away, either, and he actually  _ smiled _ at Liam when he walked past him to his desk.    
  
That smile should have been good enough to curb Liam’s nerves, but it was still a little weird, and he was still a little unsure. Asking someone to have lunch with him shouldn’t have been that big of a deal, but it was Theo, and he had about a 50/50 track record of the guy wanting to punch him in the face, so he wasn’t really sure how it was all going to land.   
  
As he packed up his bag, mustering the final courage to see if Theo wanted to have lunch with him again, the other boy approached him.    
  
“Hey,” Tho said, his backpack slung carelessly over one shoulder, helping to contribute to his apparently very convincing ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude.    
  
“Hey.” Liam jammed his textbook into his overly full backpack and looked down at it, focusing on his zipper more than Theo.    
  
“We should have lunch together again. You know, if you’re not busy with your jock friends.” He paused. “Or your nerd friend.”   
  
“Mason’s not a nerd,” Liam said automatically.    
  
“Sure he is. It’s not a bad thing. Hackles down, dude.” He laughed. “I don’t have anything against your buddy. Just calling it like I see it.”   
  
“I’m the only one allowed to call him that,” Liam explained, pulling up the zipper on his backpack and putting it on at long last.   
  
“Alright, my mistake, I won’t make it again.” Theo raised both of his hands in a placating fashion. “So, lunch, or did I fuck everything up by calling Mason, well, you know,” he lowered his voice so that it was barely a whisper. “A nerd.”   
  
“Shut up.” Liam rolled his eyes, but there was a faint smile breaking through, in spite of his best efforts.    
  
“I’m gonna take that as a yes. Come on. I have to grab a burger from the cafeteria, then we can hit the bleachers again.”   
  
“Oh.” Liam stopped. “I’ll meet you outside? I don’t like the cafeteria.”   
  
“Oh, right.” Theo nodded. “Too loud. Well then yeah, I’ll meet you on the bleachers. You want anything? Soda? Fries?”   
  
“No, I’m good.” He lifted a paper bag to show that he already had a lunch.    
  
“Okay, see you in a few.”   
  
Theo headed off to the cafeteria, and Liam pulled out his phone, texting Mason that Theo had agreed to join him for lunch. Liam deemed the semantics of who had actually asked whom unimportant as he pocketed his phone.    
  
Being outside by himself was always the easiest, the quietest, and as he exited the school and made his way towards the bleachers, the millions of feelings that everyone at their school was dealing with subsided, giving way to only his own nerves about talking to Theo.    
  
It had been a long time since Liam had really and truly made a new friend. He had had Mason in his life for pretty much as long as he could remember, and yeah, he had a lot of friends, but they were all sort of on the periphery of his life. They didn’t know the most crucial things about him, but Theo did, and that filled Liam with a sense of vulnerability that he didn’t often allow himself.   
  
Even without looking, Liam could tell when the other teen approached. Theo’s feelings were so unique, and Liam couldn’t help but wonder if that was because he was another Atypical, or if it was just that Theo had a very unique range of emotion.   
  
“Hey,” Liam said without turning to face him.    
  
“That’s insane,” Theo chuckled. “That you can feel me coming.”   
  
“It’s pretty easy when you go from being alone to being around someone with feelings so-” he cut himself off, realizing what he was about to say.    
  
“What?” Theo sat down next to him, unwrapping the foil around his slightly soggy cafeteria burger.    
  
“Just...you have strong feelings.”   
  
“Really?” Theo frowned. “I guess I never really pegged them as any more or less strong than anyone else’s.”   
  
“It’s the sadness,” Liam blurted out. “It’s really intense.”   
  
“Oh.”    
  
Theo looked down at his lunch, and Liam felt the happiness inside of Theo, the happiness that had previously nestled comfortably into Liam’s chest, begin to dissipate.   
  
“There are people you can talk to you, you know, about this kind of stuff,” Liam said.    
  
“What,” Theo raised his head, smirking. “You want me to tell you all my deepest darkest secrets just because I told you my strangest one?”   
  
“No, no, no,” Liam shook his head. “I didn’t mean me, I mean, you can talk to me if you want to, but I meant like a therapist.”   
  
“I’d go to a therapist, and they’d have me either committed, or sent off for a government autopsy in like, a second.”   
  
“Not all of them,” Liam said. “I see a therapist who knows about people like us, she knows about me. She’s really helped me a lot, but she doesn’t just work on the Atypical stuff, she’s helped me with my anger issues, too, and...you know, general teenager “life” stuff. I can give you a referral, or introduce you.”   
  
“You see a therapist?” Theo looked at him, surprised.    
  
“I don’t know how I would function if I didn’t. She’s been helping me with my control and everything. Not that you need help with that - how did you get so good at control, anyways?”   
  
“Did you tell her about me?” Theo asked, ignoring Liam’s question, his brow furrowed.    
  
“What?”   
  
“Did. You. Tell. Your. Therapist. About. Me?”   
  
Even without his abilities, it was clear to Liam that Theo was not happy about that possibility. There was anxiety rising in the other man that Liam had never felt off of Theo before. Sadness, yes, but never any sort of nerves or anxiousness.   
  
“I…” Liam gulped. “But she can’t tell anyone! Everything that I tell her, it stays between the two of us.”   
  
“Fuck, Liam!” Theo moved away from him on the bleachers. “You promised me that you wouldn’t tell anyone, and I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone about you, and you waited less than a week to fuck that up? I thought you were different. I thought you were better than that.”    
  
Theo began wrapping his burger back up, and Liam knew that he had made a mistake. He wasn’t sure if the bigger mistake was telling Dr. Morrell, or telling  _ Theo _ that he had told her, but either way, he knew that he had fucked up, and he wasn’t sure how to fix it.   
  
“Theo, wait!”   
  
“No.” Theo stood up, pulling his backpack back on. “I asked you for  _ one _ thing, and you couldn’t do it. How am I supposed to trust you with any of this if you go blabbing the second that you get the chance!”   
  
“She’s my therapist, she won’t tell! She’s treated other people like me before, people like  _ us! _ ”    
  
Theo’s nerves and anxieties were joined by Liam’s own, partially because he didn’t want to scare Theo off, and partially because, well, what if Theo decided this was a tit for tat situation, and told people about Liam’s ability?   
  
He could be outed to the entire school in a matter of minutes, and, well, he didn’t know Theo well enough to know if he would or wouldn’t do that. He certainly seemed upset enough to consider it...   
  
“Is she the only person you told?” Theo asked. “Or did you tell your little nerd friend, too?”   
  
“I…” Liam felt a twisting in his gut. “Mason knows about me.”   
  
“So just because someone knows about you, they get to know about me, too, huh? Is that how this works? You said you wouldn’t tell anyone, and you’ve told two people? More?”   
  
“Just two!” Liam stood, moving closer to Theo.    
  
“Stop, stay the fuck away from me,” Theo said, raising his hands up, burger still gripped in one of them. “I don’t think I want you anywhere near me.”   
  
“Neither of them are going to tell anyone,” Liam promised. “They’re good people, you’re not in any danger, they’re-”   
  
“You may know what I’m feeling, Dunbar, but you have  _ no _ clue why I’m feeling it, and you have no idea if I am or am not in danger.”    
  
There was anger rising inside of Theo now, and Liam? He knew that this was going to be bad. Anger was always the worst emotion for him to control. Whenever someone felt angry, he felt it double inside of himself, sometimes even more than that, and what was he supposed to do?   
  
“Dr. Morrell is a good person, Theo, she can help you!”   
  
“I don’t need help.” Theo stomped down the bleachers. “Not from her, and definitely not from you, so just stay away from me, okay?”   
  
“Wait, Theo, please.” Liam chased after him.    
  
“What?” Theo snarled.    
  
“Please...don’t...tell.” Liam looked down at the ground. He knew that he had very little right to ask that of Theo right now, but at the same time, the people that he had told were trusted, they were loyal, and he knew that they wouldn’t do anything to harm him, or Theo. If Theo got angry and told the whole school, well, that was different.    
  
“You suck, Liam,” Theo said. “And I may be a lot of things, but I’m not like you. I  _ know _ how dangerous your secret -  _ our _ \- secret getting out is. Don’t worry. I’m not gonna tell anyone.”   
  
“Thank you,” Liam said softly.    
  
“Fuck you.”   
  
And with that, Theo turned, storming back towards the school, leaving Liam alone with both of their emotions, at least for a few minutes.   
  
Liam sat back on the bleachers, burying his face in his hands. The other day, talking to Theo right here had been so nice. They had shared something that connected them, something that made them unique that they couldn’t tell other people, and now, once again, Liam was alone with it. Now, once again, Theo hated him for what he had done, and a part of Liam couldn’t blame him.   
  
But the other part? The other part didn’t understand why Theo couldn’t trust that Liam wouldn’t put him in danger like that. It would be just as risky for Liam to go around telling people, because it could all be traced back to him, and even if that weren’t the case, he wasn’t that sort of person.   
  
At least he didn’t think that he was.   
  
The rest of the school day, lacrosse practice included, was miserable for Liam, and he didn’t get any relief until he pulled his phone out of his locker after practice to see a text from an unknown number.    
  
**-It has come to my attention that I may have been a little unfair. I got scared, and I blew up. Let me make it up to you Friday after the LAX game? The nerd said you like pizza?-** **  
** **  
** **-Its Theo, by the way.-** **  
** **  
** Liam replied to the text, letting out a deep sigh of relief. At least hope wasn’t totally lost.


	10. Chapter Ten - Corey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Liam busy having lunch Theo, Mason takes some time to try and get to know Corey better. What starts off as a casual lunch in the library, however, quickly escalates to flirting, and Corey finds himself, once again, totally out of his depths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it's been awhile - work is super busy, but I'm having a lot of fun with this story, so I hope you'll bear with me. I promise the chapters will keep coming, even if it's slow!

After the drama of everything from yesterday, Corey had, of course, not finished his schoolwork. As a result he decided to do his best to have his lunch in the library and at least make an attempt to get caught up.    
  
He found a table in the back, and set himself up once again with his copy of  _ A Tale of Two Cities _ , and his sack lunch from home - a sandwich, an apple, and some chips - and opened the book to try and read it, but honestly, he didn’t know how anyone read books like this. It was dense and confusing, and maybe he just wasn’t far enough in yet, but he didn’t care about any of the characters, and he was missing all of the “literary devices” that his teacher had told him to look out for.    
  
“Hey.”   
  
Corey looked up from the book, his eyes widening as he saw Mason walking towards him.   
  
“Hey.” He couldn’t help but smile as he did so, closing his book. He was, after all, more than happy to have an excuse not to work on it.   
  
“Can I sit?” Mason asked, holding up his own lunch bag, and gesturing at the table.    
  
“Oh, yeah, of course.” Corey nodded, moving his own things around to make space for Mason, even though there was already more than enough room for both of them at the table.    
  
“Thanks.” Mason sat down, opening his lunch and pulling out his own tupperware full of cold sesame noodles and veggies. “I wanted to see how you were doing after yesterday.”   
  
“Oh, no, I’m fine,” Corey said. He felt himself deflate a little.    
  
Mason was just being a good guy, just checking on the freak who had a panic attack in his therapist’s office.    
  
“It was just jarring to see people from school there but it’s cool, I leveled out, and I’m fine now.”   
  
Except he could already feel his heart rate increasing, and his cheeks growing hot. This time, though, it wasn’t in the anxiety inducing, disappearing kind of way, but more the ‘this guy makes me nervous’ kind of way.    
  
He just hoped that Mason couldn’t tell.   
  
“I’m glad to hear that. I mean, the circumstances sucked, but it was cool running into you,” Mason said, looking over at Corey. “You make any progress with Dickens?”   
  
“Mmmm…” Corey wrinkled his nose, and looked over at the book. “Not really.” He didn’t want to tell Mason why, though. He hated the idea of Mason knowing how stupid he was on top of everything else. “I guess I just don’t really like it, you know?”   
  
“That is super fair,” Mason said. “Are you working at the diner tonight?”   
  
“Um, yeah, why?”   
  
“Oh, just if you wanted, I mean, I could come grab something to eat and bring my notes so you don’t have to slog through the book.”    
  
“Isn’t that cheating?” Corey asked.    
  
“I mean,” Mason shrugged. “Depends on how you look at it, but it’s no different than using Cliff’s Notes or Sparknotes, which is what everyone else in the class is probably doing.” He paused. “Well, maybe it’s a little different. My notes will be better,” he said with a grin.    
  
“I don’t want to put you through any trouble or anything.”   
  
“Oh, it’s no trouble. I’ve been craving that peach pie à la mode ever since the night of the dance, so I’ve been looking for an excuse to stop by anyways.”   
  
“It’s a diner,” Corey smiled. “You don’t need an excuse to go to a diner.”   
  
“Well, now that I have your permission, I’m gonna be in for peach pie all the time.”   
  
“Fine by me,” Corey said, unable to control the way that his stomach flipped as Mason said that. “And I mean, if you bring notes with you…”   
  
“I’ll bring the notes,” Mason said. “So go ahead, put the book away, and let’s have lunch.”   
  
Corey shoved the book into his backpack, and faced Mason, not sure exactly what to say to him. It was sort of hard for him to believe that cute, popular, sweet, kind Mason was choosing to have lunch with him instead of Liam, or his other cool friends, and it felt oddly pressuring, if he was being honest.    
  
“So, when you’re not in school or working, what do you like to do?” Mason’s tone was mild, and held absolutely no sense of nerves, like he did this sort of thing every day...and he probably did. Mason was social, and charismatic, and Corey had no idea how to talk to anyone, let alone someone like Mason.   
  
“Oh, you know…” he shrugged. “Watch TV, I guess?” Corey squeezed his eyes shut. “God, that’s so stupid, I don’t know. I don’t do anything interesting, I-”   
  
“Hey,” Mason reached out across the table, taking Corey’s hand and squeezing it. “I love TV.”   
  
Corey wasn’t sure how one thing could be so calming, but Mason’s hand on his managed to completely pull away the fear and anxiety that he had been feeling, and he couldn’t help the way his heart rate increased at the touch.    
  
“Yeah,” Corey said, gazing into Mason’s gorgeous, dark eyes. “Me too.”   
  
“You said that already,” Mason smiled. “Well, sort of…”   
  
“Oh, right.” Corey felt that twinge of embarrassment coming back, but Mason didn’t have any air of malice to his teasing whatsoever, and Corey didn’t feel at all like he was going to disappear.   
  
In fact, he wasn’t sure that he had ever felt so visible in his entire life.   
  
With Mason putting Corey at an ease he hadn’t felt since he had been a kid, lunch time passed quickly, and Corey found himself with a spring in his step as he went through the rest of his day.    
  
Normally, by the time school was over, he was dreading going to work, already too exhausted from his day as a student to really be excited about serving coffee and pie to largely ungrateful diner-goers who rarely deigned to give him the time of day. Tonight, though, he had Mason to look forward to, and as he showered and got ready for work, he might have put a little extra time into his hair, and made sure that his uniform was clean, and looking as sharp as possible.    
  
Despite his excitement, there was an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. Mason wouldn’t show up. The other man had to have better things to do than to bring Corey notes, and have a piece of pie, and he knew that Mason had money. He could eat at way better places than this shitty diner.    
  
They hadn’t settled on a time, and without Mason’s presence, Corey’s brain managed to slip back into its usual state. After a couple of hours, Mason still hadn’t arrived, and Corey was now convinced that he wasn’t going to. Why would he? Sure, Mason was a nice guy, but he had other friends, shinier friends,  _ better _ friends. Hell, he and Corey weren’t even friends to begin with, so why would he go out of his way to come all the way here and help him out? Sure, the peach pie was good, but it wasn’t out of this world or anything like that.    
  
Mason could easily find better than what both Corey, and the diner, had to offer.    
  
The spring in his step was long gone by 8:00, and he felt droopy and exhausted, inside and out.   
  
“Hey,” Donna, one of the older servers, who Corey was sure had been working at this diner since the 70s, hip-checked him gently as she walked up to the food window where he was picking up an order. “There’s someone here to see you. A young man, asked to sit in your section, he’s handsome,” she said in a sing-song voice.    
  
“Really?” Corey perked up a little.    
  
“Really. Go. I’ll swing these by your table.” Donna took the plates out of Corey’s hands. “But maybe fix your hair first!” She called after him as he walked towards the table.    
  
Corey reached up, smoothing his hair down, but letting his hands drop to his sides as soon as he saw Mason. The other man was making himself comfortable in one of the booths, and Corey felt his stupid heart skip a stupid beat.    
  
He grabbed a menu and walked over, smiling.   
  
“Hey.”   
  
“Hey yourself.” Mason smiled up at him. “Sorry I’m late, my mom actually got home early and decided to cook for once, so I got stuck at family dinner, and I realized I didn’t have your number.”   
  
“It’s fine, I wouldn’t have been able to reply anyways. Work, you know,” Corey gestured awkwardly around the diner.    
  
“Yeah,” Mason nodded. “But you should give me your number, you know, just in case.”   
  
“Oh.” Corey felt his cheeks and neck heating up, and he was almost sure that it was visible on his face. If that was the case, however, Mason didn’t say anything. “Yeah, I can do that.”   
  
“Great.” Mason pulled out his phone, creating a new contact, and looking expectantly at Corey.    
  
“Oh, right.” He rattled off the number, wondering if Mason could hear the way that his heart was thudding.    
  
He had had crushes before, but none of them had ever really given him the time of day, and that? That made Mason dangerous. Mason didn’t ignore him in the hallways, he didn’t look away when he saw Corey coming, or ignore him at every turn. Instead, Mason said hello to him, and smiled at him, and made him feel both seen, and worth spending time with, and that gave Corey something he knew he shouldn’t have.   
  
Hope.   
  
He did everything that he could to push it back, but he knew that Mason was gay, and in the back of his mind, even with everything that he was so sure of, Corey couldn’t help wondering “what if.” That “what if” was dangerous, because it meant that he could get hurt.    
  
“Penny for your thoughts?” Mason asked, one eyebrow raised as he pulled Corey from his daze with his words.   
  
“Oh, nothing, sorry, just spacing. I do that sometimes.”   
  
“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Mason paused, and Corey waited.    
  
It looked like Mason had something more to say, but perhaps wasn’t quite sure if he should.    
  
“It’s cute,” Mason said finally.    
  
And there it was again, that little spark of hope in the back of Corey’s mind.    
  
“It...is?” Corey asked, gulping.    
  
“Yeah.” Mason nodded. “You get this look in your eyes, like you’re somewhere else completely, but like...somewhere you really want to be. Somewhere nice.”   
  
_ Yeah... _ Corey thought.  _ A place where you like me back, and something in my life is actually good. _ _   
_ _   
_ “Anyways. Sorry, wow, that was probably super inappropriate, you’re trying to work and here I am, flirting with you.”   
  
“You’re flirting with me?” Corey’s eyes went wide with Mason’s forwardness, and he was pretty sure that he had died and gone to some version of heaven where just about everything was the same, except, cute, smart, kind boys actually noticed him.   
  
“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Mason said. “I shouldn’t. Not when you’re working.”   
  
“No, no, it’s fine, you can flirt with me,” Corey said quickly, afraid that if he supported Mason’s views that he shouldn’t, it would never happen again. “You can flirt with me whenever you want. One day, I might even flirt back, if I ever figure out how.”   
  
Oh god. What was he saying? He had never actually flirted with someone, not like this, and definitely not with someone as out of his league as Mason fucking Hewitt.   
  
“I’d like that.” Mason smiled at him, and Corey felt like he might pass out.    
  
“So, um, you ate, but coffee? Pie?”   
  
“Definitely.” Mason nodded.    
  
“Peach à la mode?”   
  
“Yes please. And black coffee?”   
  
“Coming right up,” Corey said with a smile. He left the menu on the table just in case, and turned to get the order.    
  
He got the pie warming, and poured the coffee before getting out the ice cream. He paused, adding a second scoop to the top of it before taking both things out to Mason.   
  
“Ohhh, two scoops?” Mason asked, raising an eyebrow.    
  
“Yeah.” Corey shifted slightly.   
  
“Is that how you flirt?”   
  
“Maybe.” Corey shrugged.    
  
“I like it.”   
  
“Oh.” Corey smiled, feeling lighter than air. “Then yeah, it’s uh...how I flirt. On the house, by the way.”   
  
“You sure?”   
  
“Definitely.”   
  
“Well thank you.” Mason was just about to take a bite when he stopped himself. “Oh! Before I forget!” He reached into the laptop bag that sat beside him on the booth bench, and pulled out a folder. “I brought those notes for you. I made a copy, so you can keep them.”   
  
“Oh, wow.” Corey took the folder, subconsciously hugging it to his chest as though it were something truly precious. “Thank you.”   
  
“Anytime.”   
  
“Careful what you offer,” Corey said quietly    
  
“No,” Mason shook his head. “I meant what I said. Especially if it comes with free pie.”   
  
“The pie wasn’t for the notes,” Corey said, feeling an odd burst of confidence. “The pie was because you’re cute.”   
  
“Oh, well, anytime on that, too,” Mason teased.    
  
“Excuse me!”    
  
Corey’s attention was pulled from Mason as a customer from another table flagged him down.   
  
“Could we get the check, please?”   
  
“Oh, yes, right away, sir!” Corey nodded, instantly turning away from Mason, storing the folder quickly and going to get the check.    
  
As he waited for it to print, he looked up, just a little, and was pleasantly surprised to see Mason smiling at him, the pie on a fork halfway to his lips. When he noticed that Corey was looking back at him, he shot him a wink.   
  
Corey smiled as he pulled the receipt from the printer, shaking his head slightly, as though in disbelief. Could something finally be going right in his life?    
  
He didn’t want to get his hopes up too high, but even Corey’s brain, as cruel as it could sometimes be, was unable convince him that Mason was fully disinterested in him. Mason had been too clear, too forward for that, and while Corey planned to proceed with caution, it was, for the first time in his life, an optimistic caution.


End file.
